Return of the Sayajin
by SingsOfDeath
Summary: What if the Great Kaio had been right and the Fusion between Goku and Vegeta had been permanent? What if some of the Sayan's have survived on other worlds, like Vegeta himself? NOT YAOI! Please read and review!
1. Return and Arrival

Disclaimer: This is a short story set twenty years after the Boo Saga. It includes a view on what could have happened if the Fusion between Vegeta and Goku would have been permanent as it had been suggested. Also, there are some scenes which include some very graphical language. So to put it clear, there will be violence (Well, considering the Main Characters are One-Man-Walking-Nuclear-Wars, who'd have guessed, eh?). You have been warned.

Twenty years had passed since the defeat of the Demon Boo. Twenty years in which no new threat had arisen on the world and in which the fighters had not met a real challenge besides themselves. It had been a peaceful time for Earth, but peace is something that disquiets a warrior's heart. So the heroes of the last battle had spent their days practising. But peace is also always interrupted at one point or the other and this is where the story begins. The story of the

**Return of the Sayajin**

It was another peaceful day in the bustling capital city of earth. People went about their business, their daily routines, chatting, hurrying from one place to the other, laughing and enjoying their life's. Children screamed for their parents to buy them the newest video-game and girls chatted about the newest idol in the magazines. Important men in suits dicussed important developments in world-politics or economics and older women gossiped about the latest rumors in the city. It was peaceful, no signs of the huge battle left which had been fought here twenty years ago. The people had not forgotten, but had chosen to go on with their life's and rebuild the capital city with great effort.

Videl walked along the crowded street, watching these people enjoying their day and had to, once again think about how they didn't even know whom they owed all of this. The mass of earth's inhabitants still believed that Mr. Satan had been the one to save the planet once again, like she had so long ago. But these times were over. At an age of 36, married to her beloved Son Gohan and with two beautiful children, Videl was one of the few people who actually knew about the true saviours of the world. The people chosing to stay in the background. She had witnessed the fighting and the awesome destruction caused in the fight and she knew that she owed her life to two people who nobody of these city dwellers even knew. The warriors from another planet, aliens, who had given so much to defend this world from certain destruction. A sacrifice which no one would ever honor, a sacrifice which was forgotten all too easy because of the false reverence to the false hero, her father.

And those two people, she would never see again.

A pang of sadness jolted through her heart as she remembered Gohan's grief when he had realized what the ultimate price for this victory had been. The Demon had been too powerful to be destroyed by normal means. So the two most powerful defenders had chosen to fuse themselves in a way that created the ultimate fighter. But a fusion that would last for all eternity. They had sacrificed their self's in order to save this world once again. Son Goku and Vegeta had chosen the only open path for them, to become one and destroy the demon ultimately. A slight shiver ran down her back as she remembered the scenes after the defeat of Boo. The deep look of sadness in Vegetto's eyes as he had looked at them from high above. The deep regret she had felt when he had turned around and vanished without a word. At first, she had been angered, but later she had realized that Vegetto couldn't have remained here. It was impossible for one person to live the life of two and on top of that Videl suspected that he himself had to have time to think things over. To cope with this new situation. But ever since that last battle, Vegetto hadn't returned and the friends had been unable to find him, no matter how hard they had looked. Sometimes, when she woke up in the night, she had the impression of a figure floating outside their window. She had the impression of sad eyes gazing through the darkness into the room where Pan and Chira lay sleeping, watching, but not daring to come closer. However when she got to the window to get a better look, the figure was gone.

She never told anyone of this, knowing for a fact that it would pain her husband even more, knowing that his father was somewhere out there. She left him with the belief that he was gone, forever. He had coped with it by now and was able to live his life happily. So were the others. Bulma with her two children, Trunks and Bra, Son Goten and Chi-Chi, C18 and the whole...family.

"Hey Videl!"

The shout brought her back into reality. She recognized the voice of Bra and her keen senses immediately picked up the young girl. A soft smile came to Videl's lips as she watched the blue-haired girl run towards her with a big smile on her lips.

"Ah, Bra-chan, what brings you here? Aren't you practising with Trunks. The Budokai is due in a few days, no?"

Bra finally caught up with her and grinned brightly, bowing feintly and inclinging her head. She had grown to a very attractive young lady with sparkling blue eyes, bright blue hair and a liveliness that she could only have from her mother though she had the strength of her father in her veins and his joy in fighting.

"Ah, yeah I am!" she giggled happily. "But I took some time off to get something to eat! Won't you join us? Trunks and Goten are there, too!"

Videl smiled and nodded, following the young girl through the streets to the restaurant nearby. She recognized Trunks and Goten, sitting outside and seeming very happy about something. When they noticed her, they smiled brightly and waved.

"Hey Videl-san!" they greeted her cheerfully.

"Good morning you two! Taking a small snack in your break?" she chuckled as she sat down on the table which was laden with dozens of bowls of various kinds of food.

"Hey Videl-san, are you going to take part in the Budokai, too? And what about Gohan-san?" Trunks asked.

Videl inclined her head and nodded softly.

"Of course. Gohan has dropped many of his lectures in order to get more time for training and I join him most of the time. Though it's really no good for me to take part when you are there, but it's fun."

Bra giggled and patted Videl's hand.

"Ah, don't sound so gloomy about it. You're the strongest human on this world after all, that's something to be proud of and besides you really can't..." and there she stopped. Her features suddenly took on a concentrated tone and she gasped. Trunks and Goten stopped devouring their food, having the same expression on their features and then Videl noticed it, too.

"What...is that?" Bra whispered with an awed voice. "This power!?"

Trunks and Goten looked up to the sky, searching.

"An aura of immense power. Approaching fast! Who can that be!?" All of them stared at the sky for a moment and then they suddenly saw a bright spark in the sky, lengthening and streaking through the blue heaven like a comet.

"There it is!" Videl exclaimed and pointed at the thing as it progressed through the atmospere, leaving a trail of fire behind it as it hurtled overhead. A low roar began to fill the air and slowly but surely, all other people noticed the thing, too. The people of the city stood rooted to the ground as the roar began to grow louder, climaxing in a deafening boom as the thing pased overhead.

"Come on!" Trunks and Goten both jumped up and were off in the air a second later. Videl and Bra followed close behind and the four of them took up the chase of the strange thing.

"Another monster coming to attack earth?" Trunks thought out loud. "But that would be dangerous. The power I felt from this thing is immense. Even Vegetto in his fight against Boo didn't emit such a power."

Videl narrowed her eyes at that. She wasn't as apt at reading aura's as the two half-Sayan's and during the fight with Boo, her abilities hadn't even allowed her to sense power signatures so she wouldn't have known if this one was stronger or weaker but Trunks words frightened her. She had seen how Vegetto had smashed the Demon into a pulp without any effort, a task made even more wondrous by the fact that earlier Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and all the other fighters hadn't even had a chance against the demon.

"Don't jump to conclusions Trunks-kun. So far it's only a ship coming in for a landing, nothing more. We cannot know if the pilot is hostile or friendly." Bra said through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, true, but it's better to expect the worst, in't it?" Goten threw in from beside her.

Videl nodded to herself as the four friends dashed through the sky.

A few moments later they could see a bright explosion in the distance, a sign that the ship had made a kind of landing.

"It went down over there!" Goten eclaimed and adjusted his course, accelerating to an even higher speed.

They arrived only a moment later. Goten in the lead slowed down to get a better look of things. The dust slowly settled around the crater the ship had created, but so far they couldn't see what kind of ship it had been. A moment later however he stopped dead in the air.

"T...Trunks-kun..."

Videl stared at him. It wasn't all too usual that Goten was at a loss for words. The shock and surprise on his face was even more uncommon.

"Hey, Goten...what is it?" Trunks asked and stared at his friend.

Goten didn't say anything but pointed at the rim of the crater, his eyes wide.

All of them followed the gesture and all four suddenly gasped as their eyes recognized what Goten had seen.

A few meters in the air a figure hovered silently, arms crossed in front of its chest. Spiky black hair was billowed slightly in the soft gusts of wind. Dressed in a black combat suit with orange shirt and belt, white gloves and shoes, the figure had its back towards them, but there was no mistaking him. They all couldn't feel his power or his presence, but they knew what they were seeing.

Vegetto...

The legendary fighter quietly watched the dust clear in the crater, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he in turn was being watched by the four friends.

"What...what is he..." Trunks began, but stopped. He was too shocked. Just when he had coped with the loss of his father he was now staring at the being he had become to secure the world. Videl could imagine the torment both of them, Goten and Trunks were going through now. The two of them were immobilized, unable to move, too stricken to even speak.

"L...look..." Videl pointed at Vegetto with a nervous, slightly shaking finger. What she meant was obvious. All of them had seen Vegetto and all of them knew that something had changed in his long absence. The long, furry tail that was swishing behind him softly was definitely a new addition.

Meanwhile, the dust had settled and Videl could identify the ship as a small spherical capsule with one tinted window. It looked badly beaten, which was quite reasonable considering the way it had landed here. She had never before seen such a construction, but granted, she had never really seen any space-ship.

"A...Sayan Capsule...?" Bra whispered quietly, torn between looking at the figure she knew at least contained her father and the small capsule on the ground.

"What?" Videl asked, dumbfounded.

"Mother told me about them. This one looks like a capsule the Sayan's used to travel around in space fast." Bra shook her head in disbelieve.

Videl turned to once again stare at the capsule on the ground, her gaze, too torn between the figure of Vegetto and the small ship.

"But...I thought...there were none left..." she whispered.

"That's what we thought, too..." Bra returned the whisper.

Things were getting stranger by the second. Vegetto reappearing finally, a Sayan capsule landing without a warning. To be honest with herself, Videl was at a loss as to how to feel. She knew from Gohan, that Sayans had once been a race of conquerors and murderers so she wasn't sure if the coming of this capsule was a good or a bad thing.

And then there was Vegetto. Vanishing from their life's in a flash, leaving them wondering if he was even alive and now appearing out of nowhere. It wasn't just him appearing, it was also the way he hovered there, remaining motionless, oblivious to their presence. Not one sign of recognition. Had he forgotten about them? Forgotten about his children and family and friends? She couldn't imagine that, not with Goku and not even with Vegeta. So why was he showing himself finally? It certainly had something to do with the capsule.

"Extinguish your aura's!"

The sudden command ripped Videl away from her thoughts. The strange voice was a mixture of the voices of Gohan's father and that of Vegeta. The super warrior spoke quietly and still the voice carried all the power of this man to them. They gaped at him, taking a moment to realize that it was him speaking and them being spoken to but then they complied immediately.

No second too soon. Even as the three of them came to a landing, the hatch of the capsule emitted a slow, long hiss, smoke curling from the lid upwards as it swung up slowly. The lid locked itself into the open position with a soft metallic click. A moment later, a hand gripped the edge of the lid and a small figure lifted itself from the interior of the capsule.

Videl could only stare in amazement as her eyes locked on the figue that now slowly turned. It was a woman, no, a girl, of maybe 17 years of age. Black, spiky hair was short and tied to a strange sort of pony tail behind her head. Coal black eyes slowly took in the surroudings, lips curled in an expression that only could be described as nervousness. She was clad in a tightfitting body-suit, all in black, wich pronounced very female curves, but also strong muscles and an athletic build. What cought Videl's eye a moment later was the long, furry tail which twitched behind the girl, also in a fashion that could only be described as nervous. She had only heard from Gohan about the tails Sayajin usuall sprouted, but this was the first time she ever saw one for real and not only one, but two. Why in all heavens was Vegetto sprouting a tail? True, he was Sayajin, but she knew from Gohan and the others, that both, Goku and Vegeta had had theirs removed permanently long before she had met any of the fighters. She had to admit however, it gave the girl a kind of cute look, though she immediately discarded that thought again, reminding herself that there was no knowing what they could expect of this one.

Slowly the eyes of the girl settled on Vegetto and there seemed to be hint of recognition in her gestures. She turned fully towards the fused being and walked towards him. Vegetto himself slowly descended towards the ground, touching down with a feint click of his boots. The girl approached him slowly, almost carefully and stopped a few meters away, her gaze firmly locked on Vegetto.

"Greetings." she said with a mild voice.

Vegetto inclined his head lightly, but didn't say anything yet. His expression was unreadable, no emotions present whatsoever.

Receiving no answer at all, the girl blinked once before speaking again.

"I...ummm...I was...looking for...well...." She stopped herself before stammering on.

Videl raised a brow. For all she had heard of the true Sayajin's, this didn't seem like one. Then again, Only Vegeta had ever really lived on the Sayan homeworld and he had never talked about it, which was understandable considering what had happened to the world. Still, she couldn't quite bring herself to see this girl as a world devastating warrior yet she reminded herself that looks could easily be deceiving.

Vegetto apparently finally thought it fit to speak himself.

"Who are you, girl?"

The girl herself inclined her head and the smallest of smiles touched her lips. Apparently she felt much better when being asked a question herself.

"My name is Jari."

Vegetto raised a brow, apparently urging her on to speak more.

"Well, ummm...I have been traveling through the galaxy for quite a while now, searching for...for..." as she spoke these words, she suddenly gulped feintly and looked down, away from Vegetto. Videl blinked, seeing a tear form in the girls eye.

"I...I' sorry...I'm searching for someone like me..."

A simple satement, but it carried a burden of grief that was feelable in the voice of the girl who had introduced herself as Jari. There was pain in her words, fear and resentment and Videl could imagine where it came from. The Sayan homeworld, Vegeta-sei had been destroyed a rather long time ago, along with most of the race. Up till now, the friends had believed that Goku and Vegeta were the only remaining, full-blooded Sayajin, but apparently that was not true. For once, if this girl was only as old as she looked and behaved, she couldn't have been born on Vegeta-sei. That taken into account, two more survivos of the destruction of the planet were necessary and even likely. But the sadness in Jari's voice was so deep, that Videl was led to believe her parents were dead, too.

"Someone like you, eh?" Vegetto said quietly.

Videl noticed that he had wrapped his tail around his waist, in effect making it very difficult to identify it on first sight. She suspected that Jari had no idea she was talking to one of her kind even now.

"Then what exactly are you?"

Jari looked up slowly, having forced the tears back now.

"I'm a Sayajin." she said with no small amount of pride in her voice.

"I was born on the planet Grittania, but my parents were both full blooded Sayan warriors and they raised me there until..."

The pride vanished quickly, being once more replaced by grief and sadness. She swallowed the tears down, hard and forced her voice under control.

"Until my parents were killed by a ravaging monster. I wanted to help them fight, but they would have none of it. They said that it was important for me to survive and set me into one of their capsules, sending me off into space before that thing could kill me. Since then I have been traveling the universe, always looking for another like me. I have found none...but I still have hope."

Vegetto nodded feintly as she ended her short account, looking her up and down slowly.

Videl felt a short flash of happiness for the girl at the moment. She could not begin to imagine growing up with nobody at all, always traveling, always searching. Lone in the universe, but never giving up hope and finally, here she would find what she had been looking for.

"I see, and has this monster followed you?" Vegetto asked quiely.

Jari shivered feintly and nodded.

"Yes. Another reason why I have not settled down somewhere is that he has indeed been following me. I don't know why he is so intent on killing me. I have reason to believe that he will come to this place, too, which is why I only want to stop by shortly, get something to eat and drink, check out the people on the world and then leave again as quickly as possible."

Vegetto inclined his head, raising a brow in a questioning sort of way.

"You are fleeing?"

At that, Jari stiffened and shook her head vehemently, anger flashing in her coal black eyes.

"I am NOT fleeing but I couldn't accept a planet like this with so many people on it being devastated by a fight between him and me!" she exclaimed.

Videl looked to Bra, Trunks and Goten. All three of them looked pretty uncertain and quite estranged. Apparently this was not the way a normal Sayajin behaved or at least they had only experienced other Sayajins. According to what Gohan had told her, a Sayajin would have cared less if innocent bystanders would be killed in a fight as long as he could fight.

Vegetto, too had raised his brow in wonder at the exclamation.

"You look like a Sayajin, but you don't sound like one." he stated quietly.

Again, Jari stiffened and anger flamed up in her eyes.

"What do you mean? How would you even know you...human!" she shouted.

Vegetto merely raised the other brow and finally uncurled his tail from his waist. Gently it swished back and forth behind him. The girl noticed it a moment later and her anger vanished in a milisecond. Her eyes widened as she stared at the tail, transfixed before she returned her gaze to Vegetto's features. Her frown slowly turned into a light smile. Once again, her eyes glittered as tears formed in them, but this time, they were tears of joy and it was clearly visible. Her fingers trembled softly. There was an unbelievable joy emitting from every gesture and a moment later, she couldn't control her joy any longer. With a yelp of happiness, she leaped forward and threw herself onto Vegetto, her arms wrapping tightly around the Sayan warrior. Trunks and Bra gasped feintly besides Videl. Vegeta would have forcefully, very forcefully removed the girl from himself, but it didn't happen. The warrior didn't do anything for a moment as the girl released all her joy in soft sobs against his chest and a moment later, to everyone's surprise, he gently placed an arm around the girl in a very reassuring sort of way. It was a very strange picture. Videl had seen Goku give some niceities to his family, but never Vegeta and of this being, she had only seen the awesome destructive power. It was strange to see this super warrior give a gentle touch to a person. A moment that seemed to stretch into eternity passed as the two Sayans stood in a silent embrace.

Vegetto looked down to the girl when she disengaged from the hug finally. In the years of his exile, Vegetto had learned to cope with the two different beings inside him and had begun the process of uniting them into a single being. The process was not yet completed, but it was almost so, which was why he had given this girl a show of affection instead of shoving her away. Now she stood there, gazing into the eyes of Vegetto.

"Easy there girl..." he said softly and nodded feintly.

"There's no need to cry right now. Your journey has come to an end here."

He smiled gently and looked behind him for a moment.

"Come on, you guys, no need to hide anymore."

Videl, Trunks, Bra and Goten jumped slightly, having followed the scene too fixated and only now realized that Vegetto had spoken to them. Slowly, they got up and walked towards the two. Jari looked to the four people approaching, a slight hint of apprehension in her eyes, but since Vegetto had called them, she relaxed quickly.

"Well, Jari, meet Videl, Trunks, Goten and Bra." He motioned at each of them in turn.

"And this is Jari." Videl smiled and nodded to the Sayan girl, Trunks waved, still a little uncertain and his eyes constantly wavered to Vegetto, just like Goten's. Bra smiled as well and waved, but her eyes, too wandered to Vegetto quite often.

"They're normally not this quiet, but there are certain circumstances which...well, which can't be explained that easily. We should take it easy and take Jari here back to the city to your homes. It's...time for me to return, too."

Videl nodded feintly, yet Trunks, Goten and Bra simply stared at the warrior, saying nothing.

Vegetto gazed back at them and after a moment slowly lowered his head.

"I know...I know..." he whispered.

"I cannot explain everything now and I cannot begin to apologize for what I put you all through but it was necessary. I couldn't do anything else and to be honest, if Jari here hadn't arrived now, I would not have returned for another 5 years. I will explain it all, I promise."

They all nodded feintly, while Jari watched them quietly, probably wondering what this was all about but she kept quiet and simply watched for now. Goten, Trunks and Bra nodded softly, though it was plainly visible that they didn't enjoy having to wait for the story.

"Let's get going."

He nodded feintly to the group and then jumped up into the air, taking off into the air, the others following quickly behind him.

"He's strange though isn't he?" Videl whispered to Bra as they sped trough the air towards the city.

Bra shrugged feintly and returned the whisper.

"I don't know what to think right now. He seems so distant. I...don't know."

Videl sighed feintly and looked at Vegetto who flew a bit ahead of them. He still had his aura extinguished, so she still had no idea just what he was capable of. Then her gaze went to Jari, who was flying a bit to the left. She cast her gaze to Vegetto rather often, but also to the others, including herself. When their eyes met for a moment, Videl thought she saw a glint of fear in her eyes before Jari quickly averted her gaze.

What was she still afraid of? Maybe it was that thing chasing her that made the girl worry. Having spent her life on the run probably hadn't helped the girl at all for sure. On the other hand, she should feel a bit more secure now that she was with a fellow member of her race? Or had she witnessed too much destruction to feel safe even now? That was probably just it. On every world she had visited, this monster probably had charged her and in passing, destroyed the whole world. A grueling thought to say the least, but Earth had often been attacked by Alien monsters and always Gokou and his friends had succeeded at throwing them back into the depths of space. Yes, there had been some close calls, but they had survived.

Videl didn't feel fear. She knew that she had the strongest fighters in the universe as her allies and that it would be nearly impossible to get past all the defenders of Earth. But Jari couldn't know that. She hadn't seen the awesome power of Vegetto or the other Senshi first hand like Videl had so she only had bad experiences to judge from. The fact that Vegetto was hiding his power-level didn't help at all, not in this regard. She hoped an explanation would come from him when they reached their home.

At the Son residence, Chi-Chi was fidgeting with the cooking devices with Bulma trying to help. They didn't talk much, not at this day. It was a ver special day for all of them. 20 years earlier, both of their husbands had vanished as the fused being Vegetto. They had never quite understood why the fused Super Warrior had chosen to leave his families behind. Chi Chi had cried a fair few times and still did once in a while, especially on the anniversary of Vegetto's disappearance. In the main living room, Krillin's family sat, waiting for the yearly dinner. C 18 looked young as ever, at least on the outside. There seemed to be something missing in her eyes ever since Krillin had died two years ago. Marron sat next to her mother, now a beautiful young lady with a remarkable resemblence to C 18 except for her coal black eyes which she had inherited from her father. Krillin had died of old age, quite naturally since he wasn't a Sayajin and didn't have their extended life spans. Marron herself was getting over her father's death by now and had begun her own training as a fighter with the guiding though hard hand of C 18. Though Vegetto's disappearance didn't affect them the same as it did with the others present, C 18 had, like Krillin insisted on joining the families on this day. C 18 herself, though emotionally almost always detached had explained that without Goku, she wouldn't be here, not like she was now, with a daughter and many friends. She said she owed him to at least try and be there for his family.

On the other couch sat Gohan with Pan and Chira, his two children. Pan, now at an age of 16 was also growing to be a strong fighter, though she didn't share her sisters joy in it. Gohan insisted on training both his children and both complied of course, but Chira took to the training with a playfulness that Pan lacked. Chira was Videl's and his second child, now 15 years old, promising to turn into a second Videl, except for her hair, which was the only real proof of Sayan blood in her as it was spiky and untamable.

All of them sat in silence, thinking about the friends they had lost while Bulma and Chi Chi continued to make the evening meal.

"Where is Videl-san Gohan?" asked Marron finally, not longer wanting to simply sit and brood.

"Oh, she went to the city to get a few things. Goten, Trunks and Bra are also in the city as far as I know. They wanted to be home in a bit though." he answered, smiling feintly.

"Talk of the devil, I can sense them coming dad!" Chira said and grinned widely.

"True, but..." Gohan didn't finish his sentence. He was standing the next moment, as were C 18 and Marron. Both of them had probably sensed the same. Indeed, Bra, Videl, Trunks and Goten were approaching, but there was another aura following them. An aura of great power though neither Gohan, nor C 18 or Marron knew this aura.

"Who could that be?" C 18 asked quietly.

Gohan shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"I have no idea, but it would be better if we go outside to see."

The group stood up and left the house quickly and even as they all went through the door, they could see the 6 spots in the sky, approaching fast.

"Six???" Gohan asked quietly, raising a brow.

"I can only sense five of them." C18 said with a quiet voice.

"Me, too." Gohan replied and narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to identify the sixth person. His eyes suddenly widened and he took a few teps back involuntarily.

"It..." he whispered and then C 18 realized it too, her eyes narrowing feintly as she saw the shape get clearer.

A bare moment later, they watched as the six figures settled down on the ground gently.

First Bra, Trunks and Goten, then Videl with a girl none of them knew and last, Vegetto.

There was a stunned silence as all eyes first roamed to the unknown girl, but then settled on the one whose disappearance they all had come here to contemplate. The Super warrior who had saved all of their life's back then. His black eyes surveyed the group of people slowly. For so many years, he had watched from afar, had chanced quick peaks on his family to make sure they were somewhat alright. It had hurt him when he had had to leave, but he had known back then that he could never have filled the position of two people as one person and even if that had been possible, he had been too confused, too shocked of this new situation. In the heat of battle it had been nice and well to use the Fusion to beat Buu, but after the battle had ended the full meaning of this new life had dawned on him and it had been too much. The unification process of Goku and Vegeta into Vegetto wasn't complete, but he had felt the ki of this girl approaching from far away and had wondered why she was coming here and more importantly how her mere existance was even possible. Apart from Jari, there was another thing that bothered him though, something that he felt would be important soon but which he couldn't really identify.

So his exile had ended sooner than he had anticipated and now he was back with the people he had left behind. Towards many of them, he now felt a bond of friendship, but since it was the combined emotions of two beings, his disposition had shifted somewhat.

Now he felt a slightly dimmed sense of friendship towards all of them, but the intenseness of the feelings Goku had had was gone. That was one reason why he had not shown himself for so long. Only the children. The children were very dear to him and he knew why. Vegeta's desire not to let the Sayan race die out, coupled with the true-hearted feelings of Goku made for a very deep bond towards these kids, towards Chira and Pan, Goten and Trunks. He had visited them often, during the night, had gazed through the window of their homes to catch a glimpse of them and had quite often watched from afar while they trained. Now that Gohan had turned away from training and towards studies, it was upon the younger children to become strong, to defend their world. His world.

And then, a Pure-blooded Sayan girl comes along. Of course, Vegetto's interest had been piked. To begin with, one survivor indicated that there could be other survivors and a pure-blooded Sayajin girl was the beginning of a new Sayan race.

His thoughts returning to the here and now, he realized that still, nobody was talking and everyone was staring at him.

"I suppose I have some explaining to do..." he murmured and nodded.

End Chapter 1


	2. Explanations

Chapter 2: Explanations

„I would suppose, you all want to know where I have been and what I have been doing, right?"Vegetto finally said, inclining his head in a questioning sort of way. No one spoke, but everyone except for Jari nodded. Vegetto chuckled feintly and nodded.

"I shall answer your questions in due time, but for now, we have a visitor and I believe she is rather hungry." He looked to the Sayan girl and smiled an encouraging smile, urging her to follow him as he approached the place one of his halves had formerly lived in. He walked past the silent crowd of onlookers, not daring to show any emotional reaction, because he was not sure what kind of reaction he would actually reveal. So he entered his former residence and led Jari to the dining room where both of them sat down. Apparently, Videl, Trunks, Goten and Bra were currently being questioned as to where they had found him and what this strange girl was doing here, but Vegetto chose to ignore that and instead filled his plate with some food.

"Go on little one, help yourself. Chi-chi's food is delicious. Well...was, last time I checked." He took a hearty bite from a piece of meat and smiled feintly. "Aye, it still is delicious."

Jari watched Vegetto quietly for a moment, then reached to the plates in front of her tentatively. She was indeed hungry. Her last real meal had been a long time ago and the food on the table smelled most wonderful to her empty stomach. Once she had taken her first bite however, the Sayan hunger overcame her fully and she started to wolf down the food hungrily. Vegetto chuckled slightly and began to eat for real as well. The two of them didn't stop when the others stepped into the house and watched them in shocked silence.They sat down around the table and waited for the two Sayajin to finish their meal, which of course took some time. When they finally stopped eating, both leaned back with a rather satisfied expression on their features.

"Ahhhh, as good as always." Vegetton nodded and smiled feintly, turning to look to his families.

"Indeed, most delicious." Jari nodded as well and licked her lips, appearing thoroughly happy for the moment.

Vegetto nodded and then turned his eyes back to the band of people who were still watching them as though they were aliens. Well, they WERE aliens, but anyway. He got up and walked towards them, indicating Jari to follow him. The gazes from his families were filled with expectation, irritation and nervousness.

"I know, you probably ask yourself, why did I leave and why did I return right now." Vegetto began. There was silent nodding from all present.

"When Vegeta and Goku fused into one being, the fusion was not immediately complete. Though we were of one body, there were still two minds inside and I knew that it would be impossible for one person to fill the life of two. I had to go away to unify the two self-spheres inside me, to try and make one person out of two, because otherwise I would have sooner or later gone insane. It pained me to leave you all behind like that, without a word, without a trace, but I also knew that it would only cause more pain if I had stayed back then."

He paused shortly, waiting for questions, but none came. They all just stared intently at him.

"I would not have returned for some time still, because the unification process is not yet fully complete, but our guest", he nodded to Jari, who was also listening with interest. "Has spiked my attention and although I believe we do not have to expect any danger from her, I know that something sinister is following her, although I can't say what it is exactly. So I returned, earlier than planned, mostly because I know we need to prepare for the storm that will soon be right upon us."

When he finished, there was a brief pause. Then Gohan spoke, still appearing confused, but obviously determined to not let it show.

"But who is this girl anyway?" he asked.

Vegetto smiled feintly and pulled Jari in front of him.

"Ah, I'm sorry for not introducing you guys earlier. This is Jari, and she is a full blooded Sayajin, which makes her the first of her kind you meet. Jari, these are the people I call friends and family."

Jari nodded a soft greeting to all of them and they couldn't help but notice the slight nervousness in her movements, but then again they were all too shocked at the realization that Vegetto had called her a full blooded Sayajin. The different reactions ranged from disbelief to shock and even a little fear.

Gohan was the first to speak.

"But...that's impossible. You, well, both of you...well..." he stumbled on his words and shook his head having lost the thread of what he had been about to say.

"To begin with, I am a single person now, combining everything Vegeta and Kakarrot once were in me. So, it would make things easier if you adressed me as a single individual." Vegetto said with a light smile on his lips.

Gohan nodded and began again.

"Well, you said yourself that Vegeta-sei has been destroyed. Frieza admitted it. How could it be possible for a Sayajin to turn up suddenly?"

Vegetto nodded slightly and patted Jari on the shoulder.

"A good question. As far as she has told me, her parents were not on Vegeta-sei when Frieza blew it up. That is not unlikely, since, as you know, we were a race of conquerers. Apparently, they received her on that planet."

It was C18, who, unlike herself, joined into the conversation without being asked a question first.

"That would open the possibility of more Sayajin's alive out there."

Vegetto nodded.

"Same conclusion I came to and that brings me to why I really returned earlier."

He looked at all the gathered people, people he had known for so long in his life and whom he cared for.

"Jari is being followed. She told me and I have felt the nearing of him even before she arrived here. A dark, sinister presence which will arrive here soon and cover this world in a storm unlike anyone of us has ever seen before."

A long silence followed his words. All of the assembled stared at him and Jari, who was still munching happily on the food and apparently had not taken in much of what Vegetto had said. It was Gohan who spoke again.

"But, I mean, you defeated Boo. There can't be something you can't beat." he stated.

Vegetto sighed and shook his head, glancing to Jari.

"I felt his aura through Jari and I must say, that alone, I do not stand a chance."

Another silence fell after those words, even more grave than the last.

"There is only one thing we can do. Training will only lead us thus far in the current situation. What we must do, is find other Sayans who are willing to help us. Other Sayan's who, like Jari, have survived the destruction of Vegeta-sei and have developed differently since they have been out of touch with the original Sayan way of life. We need more fighters like Jari to even stand a chance. And another thing. Whatever it is that is coming. It is not alone."

At that, Jari did stop to eat, showing the first sign that she had been listening at all.

"Oh but it is! I only saw one enemy...only one to kill my parents!" she said, inclining her head.

"He has been gathering followers. Strong followers, and also drawn on backup from his own homeplanet. All of them are on their way to Earth now. They will arrive in no less than 2 years, which gives us that much time to travel through the universe to find people who will aid us in this struggle."

Again, silence. It came as a shock to many of them, these revelations. Vegetto thoughtfully finished the last dish on his side of the table and then stood up slowly.

"Bulma, I know you have the capability to construct a FTL Spaceship. Please, go right ahead and do so, it is of utmost importance. Gohan, you and the others will start training immediately."

It was at that moment that he raised a brow shortly and inclined his head. A moment later, they all heard the resounding voice of Kaio echoing through the room.

"_Everyone, can you hear me?" _

"Kaio-sama." Vegetto nodded slightly. "Yes, we can hear you."

"_I have spoken to your Kami. He agreed to let you all use the room of Time and Space to train."_

Vegetto looked to the others who partly nodded slightly and partly stared at him, dumbfounded, particularily the younger ones. They had never heard of this room, let alone trained in it.

"That's good news. I will bring them to Kami-sama's place in a moment."

Kaio didn't say anything else and thus, Vegetto approached the assembled group of people slowly.

"I apologize that this meeting is shadowed by the impeding events, but we have to do this, or we won't have a possibility to really be together again in the future."

The group left for Kami-sama's tower right away. Upon arriva, they were greeted by a somewhat disgruntled looking Mr. Popo, who ushered them towards the room without much introduction. Kami-sama was nowehere to be seen. At the entrance to the room Vegetto turned around and gazed at each of them in turn.

"As some of you well know, this room is best suited to train in pairs. Since we lack the time to do this, we will all go in together and separate into training pairs inside. Now, who of you have not yet had the....uhm, pleasure to train here?"

Chira, Pan, Bra, C 18, Videl and Jari raised their hands slowly.

Vegetto inclined his head slightly. It had been against Gohan's wishes to take Videl along, but the girl was as headstrong as they came and wouldn't be left behind at all. His keen senses surveyed her slowly for a moment and what he had known from even before the fight against Boo had only strengthened. There was a great deal of potential there, but she was yet unable to tap it.

"OK. It will be a bit strange at the beginning, but you will get used to it. The room of Time and Space allows us to train for a whole year, while in the real world, only 24 hours pass. We cannot stay for longer than 2 days alltogether because it would drive most of us insane. So we will stay one day, then return here to relax for a few days before we spend another day in there. That gives us 2 extra years to prepare before some of us head off to look for surviving Sayan's and other people who can help us."

The group nodded silently and without any more words, Vegetto stepped ahead, into the room, the others following silently. Inside, Vegetto pointed to the door to their left.

"Here you will find sleeping places as well as showers and food storages. Familiarize yourself with the place. Gohan and the others who have trained here will be able to show you around. I will check on something and we meet at the exit of the building in 10 minutes."

With that, he vanished through the door to their right.

Videl looked around apprehensively and then cast her gaze to Gohan, who was staring after Vegetto quietly. He blinked once, then turned and smiled weakly.

"OK everyone, let's get going."

He motioned them into the sleeping quarters and they each reserved themselves a bed to camp on, though they all had a very distinct feeling that they wouldn't get much rest anyway. Jari was hanging back a bit, still a little unsure of what to make of these people. She didn't sense a very powerful aura from any of them. Then again, she hadn't felt anything from Vegetto, who was a Sayajin, for sure. She wondered if they would indeed have a chance to fight against the monster which had been chasing for so long. The person called Gohan was pointing out the food storages at the moment. The younger ones, Chira, Bra and Pan if she remembered their names correctly were rather quiet and did look a bit fearful. Shaking her head, she wondered if Vegetto was indeed thinking they had a chance with these weaklings, or if he was just bluffing to make her stay. Maybe he was a Sayajin, but one turned renegade? Why hadn't he been on their homeworld when it had been destroyed. And what was this business with Fusion?

Shaking her head, she decided to postpone any judgement until she had seen all of these people fight.

10 minutes later, the group assembled outside the building. All of those who hadn't been here gazed transfixed on the nonexistant horizon. The room stretched on endlessly and Jari, too was surprised by this surrounding. A moment later they all gasped, shocked, as the bright white field suddenly was illuminated by thin lines of blue which divided the immediate area into three large fields.

"I have divided the immediate area into three fields with differing gravitation. That way, we all can train according to our skill level." Vegetto said as he approached from behind them. They all turned to gaze at him, waiting for what was to come next.

"Now, for the groups. Chira, Bra, Pan and Videl, you will trai in this field, right at the steps. I have altered gravity to five times earth standard. You will be slow and sluggish at the beginning, but I trust you will rise in power quickly enough. C18, Goten and Trunks, you three train in that field." He pointed to the one on their left.

"It has 100 times earth standard gravity, so you should be OK for the beginning. Jari, Gohan and I will be training in the field to our right, where gravity is 1000 times earth standard."

Videl gasped, disbelieving what she just heard, but she shut her mouth. All around her, the people were nodding gravely.

"If youwish to raise the gravity, you can do so with these devices." He tossed something which looked like a TV remote to C18 and Chira.

"But don't overestimate yourselves for the time being. Any questions?"

All of the assembled shook their heads. And thus, the training began.

Videl was panting for breath even after only an hour of training. The additional gravity made it that much harder for her to move. Pan was having her problems as well and only Bra and Chira seemed to be able to handle the gravity better than the rest of them. Videl bit her lips and continued with the push ups she'd been doing for the last ten minutes, fighting against the will to just relax and stop this torment. She would show these people that it was not neccesary to be a Sayajin in order to be a fighter.

Goten, Trunks and C 18 were engaged in heavy sparring. They alternated pairs, two against one, attacking and defending with everything they had. Two hours into the training, they had grown accustomed to the gravity and in agreement, had raised the level of gravity to 300 g.

Gohan and Jari meanwhile had teamed up on Vegetto's orders, trying to attack him. The word trying is important, because with the added gravity effect, none of them got even near the super warrior, who seemed to float through this gravity as if it was zero-g and not 1000 times standard. The Sayajin-girl grew frustrated rather quickly and admired the way Gohan could just continue to train while Vegetto seemed to dodge their attacks lazily. So far, he hadn't even used his feet or hands to block anything. They had simply been unable to strike him. Jari however was rather angry. She couldn't believe his power-level to be so much higher than her own. Surely it would be impossible to mask such a strong ki signature? Yet he kept dodging, an annoying smirk painted on his features all the while.

"Damn!" she cursed as he evaded yet another attack. "Hold still!"

Vegetto chuckled lightly and inclined his head.

"Oh, why not. Come on, hit me with all you have." He hovered in mid air, looking at her, that smirk still there.

"You'll pay for that!" she spat and raced towards him. He didn't dodge this time. Her strike connected with his chin and the force of the impact knocked Vegetto's head backwards. She grinned, triumphantly, but the grin vanished as soon as he simply turned back, gazing at her with an indifferent expression.

"Is that all you can do?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Maybe you should step back and train with Goten, C18 and Trunks for a while until you are capable of a bit more than this?"

Jari stared at him, her eyes wide, not believing what she saw.

"You bastard!" she cursed and hailed attacks on him with all her might. To top it off, she conjured a crackling ball of ki energy to her hand after the last strike, sending it right at Vegetto's chest where it exploded with a deafening roar.

When the dust cleared, Vegetto was still hovering calmly, his arms crossed in front of his chest. There wasn't even a scar on him.

"All right." he said, chuckling. "Fist attack, check, feet attack, check, energy attack, also check. I believe you have given me everything you have? Then it's my turn, ne?"

Jari, who was still busy, staring open mouthed at the warrior didn't even have a chance to react. He came at her with speed such as she had never seen. His elbow dug deep into her stomach and threw her backwards, whirling through the air. She tried to stop her spinning, but the next moment, pain exploded in her back as his foot connected and sent her whirling the other direction. Gritting her teeth she tried to control herself, but to no avail. A milisecond later she felt another attack his her back and Vegetto's fist slammed her down towards the ground where she crashed with a loud thud. She tried to turn around, but her body was aching all over, her strength having been decimated by only three attacks of this warrior. Rage filled her, rage at being tossed around like that, rage at herselffor being so weak in front of others. She couldn't be weak, she couldn't be defeated like this, not against another Sayajin!

And with the rage, strength flooded back into her body. She whirled around in time to see Vegetto approach, almost leisurely. Gathering the energy of her rage together she concentrated it in her hands and sent it blasting against Vegetto. For a brief moment, she felt the energy crackle all around her, felt an allmighty surge of power. She saw Vegetto raise his brow, stop his approach and to her utmost disappointment, he extended a hand and simply slammed her energy attack to the side. The surge of power left her and she dropped down, blackness engulfing her.

"Well well, a Super Sayajin in only three hours of training. That's promising." Vegetto mused. Gohan came hovering to his side and glanced down to the body of the unconscious Jari.

"She has a lot of potential." He nodded in agreement, eyeing his father from the side quietly.

"Let's hope we have enough time to coax it out of her fully. We will need it." Vegetto mused and hovered down to pick Jari up and carry her to the building.

Gohan was left, staring after the super-warrior quietly. He, too had been surprised by the exceptional speed, by the way he had evaded his and Jari's attacks as if they were nothing and then even let himself be hit and not even carried away a slight scar. Gohan knew he was still holding back his true power. And that frightened him. Because if such a devastating force, contained in one warrior, was not enough to stop this monster that was coming for them, then what could?


	3. The Other Side

Disclaimer: Changed a few tidbits like the King's name. ;)

**The Other Side**

Jari's first conscious thought was filled with panic. She had blacked out, had blacked out in a fight. She had to be dead. She had fought the monster that had been chasing her and had died. She hadn't been able to take the revenge she had sworn to.

The moment of panic passed as she opened her eyes and realized she was not dead. She was in the Room of Time and Space and on the edge of her bed, she saw the man who had put new hope into her heart, Vegetto. He was looking at her with a light smile on his lips, as though happy about something.

"How long...did I?" she asked, sitting up slowly.

"Only an hour. You achieved a great deal in that first few hours of training and you deserved the little break."

Jari was a little confused. The training with these people had been grueling. She had been hard pressed, driven to the very limits of her capabilities quickly, all her powers, all her tricks and even her most devastating attacks for nothing. Vegetto hadn't even broken sweat, hadn't even needed to use his hands. Against the others she had fared better, but even then she hadn't been able to really win a victory.

She remembered the fierce, brutal fighting, the battle against Vegetto, how he had taunted her, teased her, mocked her and how she had snapped.

After that however, it all faded to black.

So, she had been beaten and thus, she was puzzled why Vegetto seemed pleased, even a little proud.

Her gaze apparently carried that question, because Vegetto chuckled lightly as he looked at her.

"Yes, you blacked out and thus, in a real battle, you would have been killed."

He stood up and crossed his arms in front of his chest, walking a few steps.

"Shortly before you dropped to the ground however, you managed to reach a state which you may or may not know as Super Sayajin."

The Sayan girl blinked and shook her head, which prompted him to go on.

"It is a kind of overcharge. The chi in your body multiplies in strength, the reservoirs deep within you are supplied with more energy than you would have believed possible. Your mind is clarified, your senses honed and enhanced to a degree beyond what you know now."

He stopped there for a moment, his dark gaze settling on Jari quietly.

"You achieved that state, if only briefly. For the untrained body, it is difficult to maintain this level of power, but you managed to achieve it in only a few hours of training."

Jari stared at the older Sayan for a moment, trying to comprehend what he was telling her, but then she looked down.

"But I couldn't maintain it..." she whispered, but even as she wanted to go on, Vegetto placed a gentle, almost soothing hand on her shoulder.

"I trained many years before I was able to accomplish what you did, as did the others you are training with. What you achieved, is something to be proud of."

Jari shivered lightly and looked up to Vegetto, eyes full of self-doubt, about the future, about herself.

A slight smile came to his lips as he squeezed her shoulder.

"Now, let's get back to training, shall we?"

Northern Galaxy

He never liked reporting to the King, especially with half bad news as it was now. The King was known for his quicksilver emotions, for his short temper and for the wicked mind which had caused countless of brave warriors to scream for mercy in the chambers of torture after a failure.

He wasn't afraid of that. No one would have dared to call Kavri, highest Sayan Warrior of the Kingdom a coward, but he knew that the King and his loyal band of 1st Circle Warriors delighted in any chance to cause harm and pain to others, particularily Sayajin's.

And as he was a full blooded Sayajin, Kavri was a likely target for their unpleasant treatment. The empire of King Tazik was known throughout the galaxy to dislike even the few Sayajin's who had managed to survive the destruction of their homeworld and who had been willing to serve a new Lord in order to survive. That day was still a day of celebration within the empire.

Inside the Empire, they were feared, dispised and avoided. Feared for their power, even though every Sayan was required by law to wear a Pain Collar, a device which could detect the flows of chi within a body and relayed that information to a command center where all Sayan's were closely monitored. Any unauthorized use of power and the Collar sent waves after waves of unbaerable pain through the body. Any attempt to remove the collar, and a full group of the Empire's finest non-Sayan warriors would come down on the trget and wipe him out immediately.

Kavri grit his teeth as he approached the gates to the King's audience chambers. The guards did not move. He was expected. Steeling his mind for the unpleasant encounter to come, he pushed the gates open and entered the large hall. At the far end, on a raised platform, he could see King Taris, clothed in his usual BattleArmor, behind him, two of his loyal 1st Circuit Warriors, both clothed in a similar, if less splendid armor and to the King's feet, two completely naked girls, one human-like with reddish hair and the other of humanoid shape, but with black skin and white hair. Both were, of course, love-slaves and both had the same distanced, empty look in their eyes, their minds broken and shattered, formed into obedient little human things. For a brief moment, as Kavri approached the platform, he felt a sense of pity for the two girls. He knew the destiny that awaited them. They would be used, abused, raped and tortured by the King or the men he wanted to honor for special services until they were pregnant, upon which time they would be terminated. The worst about this was that they knew it perfectly well and they had accepted it as their fate. They didn't even have the strength to be afraid anymore.

He shook away these thoughts as he lowered himself to his left knee in front of the King and looked to the ground.

"My Lord, I bring news of the girl. One of my scouts has tracked her to a planet in the Southern Galaxy, called earth."

He paused there. So much for the good news. The King did not speak, so Kavri went on.

"The scout confirms that she has not left the planet, but her signal has vanished nonetheless."

He was still looking to the ground, but he knew that the King's features would be controted with rage already and the features of his henchmen would be a mask of pleasant anticipation.

"You LOST her?" The King spoke in a dangerously quiet voice.

"No my lord." Kavri said quickly. "I believe she is on that planet still and has found a way to disguise her signal somehow. Anything leaving that world would have been detected by the scout."

For a long moment, there was no sound. The King did not speak and Kavri was about to look up when he finally began to talk again.

"You have yet to fail me Sayan. I shall assume your assessment of the situation is correct. You will go to that planet and I will accompany you." he said.

Kavri did look up at that, surprised. It was unusual for the King to go on any kind of Mission, even though he was reputedly the strongest fighter in all the empire, but then again, everything about this assignment had been strange. A search throughout the galaxy for a single Sayan girl.

"As you command, my Lord." Kavri said and rose after a dismissive gesture of the King, leaving the audience chamber.

He went straight to the control rooms from where starship launches and landings were directed and controlled, where he ordered the King's personal transport to be made ready as soon as possible. Then he returned home.

Home, that was a small apartment, which he shared with his mate, a Ssrivekan woman. Sayajin in the empire were forbidden to breed and Ssrivekans and Sayan genese did not produce offspring, which was the main reason, why the King had allowed the marriage in the first place.

Her name was Ssiti. Like all people of her species, she was of humanoid stature, but her skin was a dark shade of green and gistening, almost as if she had scales. Her eyes were slitted and yellow, reptilian like and mesmerizing to almost anyone who gazed into them too long. She was quite beautiful and Kavri was happy to have found her and even more happy that she had chosen to become his mate, a decision which had cost her all of her status in the empire and which had more or less made her an outcast of her society. Despite all that, she had chosen to stay with Kavri and he was eternally grateful for that.

"Tadaima..." he said, stretching as he entered the small apartment.

"Okaeri..." she whispered, awaiting him as usual. "You look wary my love."

Quietly, she came to his side and, standing on tip toes, she whispered a kiss on his cheek.

"I am." He replied, returning the kiss gently. "Tomorrow, I will have to leave for a long while I fear. The King wants me to accompany him on a mission to Earth."

Ssiti reacted as he had foreseen. She sighed softly, but then put on a gentle, loving smile.

"Then I shall look forward to your return."

Kavri sighed and shook his head. All of a sudden, he had a strange feeling, a sensation of wrongness in his mind.

"I...have a feeling this will be a long one...I wish..."

He stopped short and looked at Ssiti quietly for a moment. What he was thinking was crazy and if the king found out he would have his head. Still, he couldn't deny that his feelings screamed at him to take her along this time. She needed to come along, it was important as strange as that might have sounded usually, but he simply 'knew' that it was imperative for her to be with him now.

"I will let a pod be prepared for you. You'll leave a day after tomorrow. The Chief of Pod Operations still owes me a favour and he will keep quiet long enough for you to be long way away from here before they find out."

Ssiti stared at him, shocked, unsure if her beloved husband had not lost his mind quite suddenly, but Kavri's gaze was steady and a certainty was in his eyes such as she had seldomly seen.

"You...are serious...?" she whispered.

Kavri nodded. He could understand her fear, because although Kavri had taught her the basics of fighting, she was not a warrior and had never seen combat and yet, wherever Kavri went, especially with the King, there would be battle.

"I don't know why, but I do know you must come along, or we will never see each other again..."

Ssiti blinked once and looked at him quietly for a moment, not saying a word. Then, her features grew resolute and she nodded.

"All right. I know you will protect me and I do not wish to lose you." she said softly.

Kavri smiled and slipped his arms round her, drawing her into a gentle embrace.

"I would rather die than let anything happen to you..." he whispered, his gaze fixed on the ceiling of the room. They would leave this world and somehow, he knew that the future of him, of Ssiti, of the entire Empire, would be decided very soon.

How that decision would end, he was not sure, but he knew, that many would die for that decision to be made.


	4. Revelations

"_It is widely discussed when and how the  
__Fall of the Tarisian Empire started.  
__Generally speaking, the revelation of the  
__Tarisian-Sayan-Breeding-Program to  
__High Warrior Kavri is believed to be the  
__first decisive step towards that end.  
__This revelation and the consecutive  
__uproar in the remaining Sayan  
__population began to crumble the  
__foundations of Tarisian power."  
__ - **Dr. Gen Zukata  
**_**"_Modern History of the Galaxy"_**

**Revelations**

Morning dawned on the Capital World of King Tars's Empire. Kavri awoke, finding, as usual, that Ssiti was already awake and preparing breakfast for him. He closed his eyes again, once more going over the thoughts which had followed him into his dreams. His upcoming mission and the bad feeling he had in the pit of his stomach about it. Something big would happen on this mission, something that would fundamentally chnge the balance of things, but Kavri was not sure in what direction and what it would be. However, he knew he had to take Ssiti along with him. In all his life, there had only ever been one person who had been truly important to him and that had been her and it would never be different. Seperated from others of his kind, avoided by the other citizens and soldiers of the Empire, he was usually alone and he even liked that loneliness to a degree, but he was glad that he had his mate to ease the loneliness from time to time.

Now, he would take her along on a mission. For all he knew, it would be something routine. They would go to that planet, find that Sayan girl and the King would take pleasure in killing her personally, at least that was what Kavri suspected. After all, the King was the one who had initiated this whole search. Taris was a fearsome warrior, Kavri knew that, had seen his battle prowess and the awesome powers at the King's disposal and he suspected that no one had yet seen the full potential of that being. So he doubted that a lonely Sayan girl could pose any real threat to the King and he was puzzled at the zeal with which the King had commanded that search. He had also been surprised at the brutality with which he had slaughtered the parents of the child. Of course, they had been in violation of his rules, but then again, they had been in hiding. When the King had found them and learned that they had had a child, he had been furious. It all made very little sense to Kavri and maybe that was why he had this strange feeling.

With a deep sigh he slipped from the bed and got up, wrapping his tail firmly around his waist as he proceeded to the apartments eating area.

Ssiti had already loaded the table with his favourite breakfast dishes and was eating her own, comperatively small breakfast when he came in. She smiled up to him softly, though he could detect a slight edge of fear in her eyes. No doubt, she had contemplated what they were about to do as well. It was direct treason to the King and treason was punishable by death, so it was no wonder she was afraid but Kavri admired the way she handled it without flinching. With a gentle smile, he came to her side, leaned down and kissed her lovingly.

"Ohayou..." he said quietly as he sat down and began to wolf down the food.

"Ohayou..." she replied, smiling now as though finding something very funny.

Kavri blinked, noticing the look and gazed to her questioningly.

"You look amused." He stated as he gulped down some juice.

"Hai." she chuckled gently. "I was just remebered of our first meeting. Our first date. You ordered half of the restaurants menu and ordered seconds of everything, too."

Kavri grinned sheepishly and blushed a bit at the memory.

"Jaaa...." He muttered and grinned some more, continuing to eat.

"I was amazed at the quantities of food you consumed." Ssiti mused and smiled softly, fondly. "Of course, that was not the only thing that had amazed me."

Kavri blinked and raised a brow, gazing at Ssiti again.

She smiled gently and traced a hand over Kavri's cheek.

"It was ..." she said, a short look of pain flashing through her eyes when she saw Kavri's features darkneing.

"Don't misunderstand me. I saw you, saw the proud warrior you are. All that strength, all that power and yet you were chained. It was quite visible, after all, we all know what a Pain Collar looks like."

She sighed gently and again, that smile came to her lips.

"And still, you looked stronger and more fierce than any of those 1st Circle Warriors at the parade where I first saw you. It was something in your eyes I think. That...untamed spirit. Even though you are shackled now, I knew then that it will not always be so."

Kavri had listened to Ssiti's words quietly, contemplating them. It was at these times that he really appreciated her being here. Words like these made his life much easier and strangely enough, he never doubted one of her words. She had the uncanny ability to predict things, to show the general path on which they treaded and so far she had always been right.

Instead of saying something, Kavri leaned over to her and kissed her on the cheek softly.

"Arigatou." He whispered and winked, then continued eating.

An hour later, Kavri had packed his belongings, said his farewells to Ssiti and was walking towards the Launch Control center. The previous evening he had asked for the Chief Operator to meet him here half an hour before the actual launch of the King's ship and surely, the bulky Chief Operator stood, waiting for him with a surly face.

"So, what is it?" he asked, without any greetings or formalities, but then again, that was his way. Actually, compared to how he treated the other people around him, he was positively respectful towards Kavri.

"I need you to prepare a pod for tomorrow and allow Ssiti to launch."

The Chief Operator's eyes bulged and he shook his head fiercely.

"You must be out of your mind! All launches are controlled and logged. They would notice immediately..."

Kavri narrowed his eyes and cut his words off.

"They are controlled by you. You can falsify launch records, I know that and I want you to do me this one favor. Ssiti must come with me on this."

The Chief stared at Kavri quietly, chewing on some gum and then stared off into the distance.

"I can't...hold them off forever. They will be onto her in a matter of days." he said cautiously, apparently hoping he could persuade Kavri to not ask that particular favor.

The Sayan merely nodded at that and smiled.

"But we both know that the Sayan pods are still the fastest ships in space. They will never be able to catch up with her and she will arrive at the destination approximately at the same time as I do if she uses a not so direct route which will keep her from the sensors of the King's ship."

The Chief sighed, his shoulders sagging.

"You'll not think it over? You're putting her life on the line here, not to mention yours and mine!"

Kavri shook his head slightly and inclined his head. The Chief sighed again and then nodded.

"All right, I'll prepare yer damned pod, but mind you, if they find out, I'll erase my traces and it'll be as though you set everything up!"

Kavri chuckled and nodded.

"I expected no less of you."

He turned towards the launch bays.

"Farewell." he said quietly and walked off. The Chief stared after the Sayan warrior quietly for a long time. For a strange reason, he could not decide if the last word had been directed at him or at the world in general.

2 Months later

Kavri sighed deeply as he stared at the computer in front of which he sat. For two months they had been traveling now. Space travel was boring at best. A daily routine had settled in after the second day. He would get up, eat, train, eat, train and then do some research in the computer. He had set his eyes on finding out more about this Sayan girl they were after, but so far, his search had been less than fruititious. Far from finding any clues, he had been frustrated with finding ANY information on Sayajin's at all. He had never bothered to check the Empire's Network, but now that he did, he found that all information regarding Sayajin's was censored, apart from the government released deadly and dangerous stereotype articles.

So his evenings were usually very frustrating. He was about to quit his search for the day, but then quite suddenly, an icon popped up on the screen. Incoming E-Mail, only that it was not adressed to his private account. Strangely enough, it was a mail to the 1st Circle and the King himself.

He raised a brow. Of course, the 1st Circle knew about almost everything the King was doing. At any sign of weakness, they would remove the King from his position and as long as he shared his power with them enough, they were quiet and were loyal, so all in all, the King ruled, but the 1st Circle was also a kind of governing factor.

He was puzzled why he would receive such a mail as well, particularily because, when he checked the mails header, his adress was not listed there. Then it dawned on him that he was traveling on the King's own ship for the first time and normally, that was reserved for the 1st Circle. Probably one could access E-Mail from any part of the ship and no one had bothered to change that for his cabin.

With a slight smirk on his lips, he opened the mail and began to read, feeling, for a brief moment, very happy with this little failure on the King's part.

His smile vanished quickly as he began to read the report.

_From: Tarisian Research Lab Alpha_

_To: King Taris, First Circle_

_Subject: Progress Report, Breeding Program T-S_

_Attached to this file, you will find footage and data concerning out current status in the breeding program. SO far, we have been able to increase the energy level of newborns by 200, by using selective genemanipulation in the females as well as some biomechanical changes to their physique. 76 of the subjects have survived the treatment and are ready to breed again. _

_I must remind you that our breeding stock is getting smaller with every experiment. I strongly urge you to allow us another sampling of male seeds to birth a new generation of test subjects. With artificial growth enhancers, we can have them ready to birth new tests in less than a month. _

_Your faithful servant,_

_Dr. Hukan Itaso_

At first, he was puzzled as to what this was all about. But then he opened the attachments. They were first, files of test subjects, with all kinds of medical data and reports on them and every subject was a Sayan girl, the ages ranging from 12 to 25. All had reports of ongoing or finished pregnancy attached. All were reported to have been genetically modified, enhanced, biotechnically engineered and to make the gruesome words come to life, there were pictures attached, pictures of the girls, attached to monstrous machines, tubes sticking in all parts of their bodies, some of them with mutated skin, some of them with replaced eyes, some even with limbs missing. Kavri's mouth went dry and he had to force himself to continue reading. He had had no idea. Nobody knew of this. The entire empire had been told that most female Sayajins had been killed in the blast that took the Sayan homeworld. But here it was, proof that some had survived on which the scientists had created what they called breeding stock.

An unbelievable rage began to burn inside him, a fiery fire as his mind comprehended and showed him clearly what the King had done. How he had raped and tortured dozens and dozens of Sayan girls in order to create better warriors.

It made sense, in a twisted, cruel sort of way. The Sayan's were known for their fighting prowess and their ability to channel chi, so apparently the King had wanted to use that to his advantage, possibly create an offspring forhimself, even more powerful than he was.

Part of him, a large part, wanted to storm out and attack the King right away, but he couldn't. He knew he had no chance. His logical side, trained and cultivated over so many years prevailed and instead of running out and attacking, he grit his teeth and continued reading. His mission had changed. He was no longer looking for a Sayan girl in order to kill her, no, he was looking for her to gain allies. Quietly, he looked at each and every file, memorizing each and every name, vowing that one day, every single name would be avenged, if not by him, then by another Sayan.

Planet Earth

They were all exhausted, all of course, except for Vegetto, who was now training by himself, out of their sight. During the past 4 months, they had been driven to their limits, every day had been full of grueling combat, harsh training. After every day, their muscles ached terribly and yet, every morning, Vegetto would wake them up and continue their training. Jari suspected he was the one who slept least of all of them. Because every day after their training, he went off into the depths of this surreal world to train by himself. They never heard him returning, but in the morning, he would wake them all up and continue their training and he would never appear to be drained or tired.

Still, Jari was proud of herself somewhat. She was now able to maintain the state of Super Sayajin quite easily and even though she was still no match for Vegetto and wouldn't be for quite a long while, she suspected, she was now able to spar with Gohan and the others well enough, even though she would still be beaten regularily. They all assured her that her progress was fascinating and they bolstered her self-confidence in ways she had noth thought possible. With them, she felt safe and secure and thus, the training was even fun mostly.

At times however, she would still sit awake during the nights and stare into the darkness, knowing that her persuer would come sooner or later and a part of her was still certain, that even Vegetto would not be able to defeat him. After all, even the Super Warrior himself had said that they all needed training and that they all needed to find others to fight with them.

This was such a night. She was awake and even though she felt tired, she couldn't fall asleep. Around them, her new friends were sleeping peacefully, a sleep for which Jari envied them at times. Even her most peaceful sleep was still disturbed by nightmares of her parents death, of her flight, of her constant travels.

Quietly, she slipped from her bed and left the dormitory, hoping that a little bit of extra exercise would make her tired enough to finally fall asleep.

When she left the house, the gate to the real world and stepped into the training area, she found that she was not the only one unable to sleep. The human girl, Videl, was also awake, and obviously also training. Jari watched for a while, remaining quiet so as not to disturb the girl in her practice. She had to admit that she admired the fighting spirit of the human. Even with all the power around her, with all the incredible strength, even when she knew she was hopelessly out of her league, she would not give up the training and she did make progress, progress which was amazing for a human, if Jari was any judge for that. Her strength level had increased significantly during the four month training here even though she was still far below the others.

When Videl was pausing in her exercises, Jari cleared her throat, which made the girl jump in surprise and whirl around.

"Oh...." She muttered and smiled sheepishly.

"Uhm, did I wake you up?"

Jari shook her head and came a bit closer.

"No, I couldn't sleep. You are giving yourself extra practise? Don't you think you are wearing yourself out?" Jari asked softly.

Videl sighed and shook her head.

"I'm no use when it comes to their battles, you know. I know that and it hurts. It hurts that I can't protect those I love, those who have protected me so often. If I want to be any help this time, I would probably need to train even more, but I'm already doing almost too much."

Jari nodded slowly and smiled faintly, indicating the training area.

"Want to spar with me?" she asked, inclining her head.

Videl eyed her strangely for a moment, but then nodded.

"All right, but no holding back." she said, sounding almost a bit stubborn.

Jari smiled and nodded, then walked into the circle of the added gravity in which Videl had trained. She raised a brow partly in surprise, because the gravity here was at least 200 times standard, which was amazing for a human.

She turned to face Videl to express this surprise, but the girl was already coming at her and Jari had to react quickly to dodge the attacks. The human girl gave her no time to relax as she continued to attack and kept Jari at bay for a moment with the sheer ferocity of her assault. It took Jari a moment to recover and get into her rhythm and she was again surprised to realize that the human girl was very agile and fast, although her strikes lacked in real power as she noticed when she blocked a few.

The battle continued like this for a moment until Jari began a counter attack and now pushed Videl on the defense. True to her word, the Sayan girl did not hold back, though she refrained from activating the Super-Sayajin, but even her normal power was enough to drive the human girl back quickly. A few moments later, she scored the first stroke, which sent Videl flying backwards but she flipped, recovered quickly and attacked again.

They continued their sparring for a while, with Jari scoring more and more hits and Videl growing slower gradually until she was completely on the defensive. When Jari managed to score another series of hits, she was about to raise her voice to call it a night. She was not really much more tired, but her mind had strayed enough to probably allow her to go to sleep.

However, she stopped from saying anything. Videl was on her knees, panting for breath, but Jari felt something coming from her. The girl was sobbing, she was bleeding from several wounds.

"I...will not give up..." she muttered beneath her breath and rose to her feet. Around her, an eerie green aura shimmered into existance, sparkling and somewhat irregular. When she looked up, her eyes were no longer the usual blue, but a fierce, glowing crimson and her short cut hair was flaring and shifting back and forth from the normal black and a mesmerizing green. Something was happening and Jari felt that it was not just the appearance. The powerlevel of the girl rose from the, strong for humans, to almost as strong as Sayan's in no time.

With a yell of rage, the girl stormed towards Jari who was struck motionless. The transformation was complete, Videl's hair now a dark shade of green, her eyes two crimson orbs and an aura of green energy flaring around her. Jari barely had time to realize she was being attacked before the first hit connected with her jaw and sent her reeling backwards. A series of more hits followed until Videl put one of her hands to Jari's chest and an energy blast scorched the Sayan girl, sending her sprawling backwards.

Jari was hurt, really hurt and she was angry, charging up to Super Sayajin, but before she could retaliate with an energy attack of her own, she felt her hand being grabbed and held in an iron grip. She looked around, finding Vegetto to be the one who was holding her. Instead of saying something, he pointed to in the direction of Videl and when Jari turned to look, she saw the human girl lying motionless on the ground, now looking quite normal again. Jari blinked once, then reverted to normal and lowered her arm, staring at Videl quietly.

"What...what was that?" she whispered.

Vegetto walked towards the unconscious human and picked her up gently, Jari following her.

"She has found that which makes her special." he said cryptically. "I think it's time to step up her training, don't you agree?"

He smiled and winked to Jari, who was staring back at him wide-eyed.

As she followed him inside, recovering from the shock, she wondered to herself, how many more surprises this seemingly so simple planet Earth had in store for her, or for her pursuer.


	5. Truth Uncovered

**Chapter 5**

**„Truth uncovered"**

„_Interestingly enough, it was  
__very easy to manipulate a  
__Sayan's genes. Strengthening  
__effects could be reached with  
__minimal effort, but the Sayan  
__immune system constantly  
__changed back to the original  
__genetic sequence after only  
__one generation. To stop this  
__automatic countermeasure,  
__that was the real problem."  
__ Dr Zerik Dervin  
_ "_Tarsian/Sayan Breeding Program"_

/Earth – Room of Spirit and Time/

Videl woke up and the first thing her eyes saw was the ghastly white ceiling she had seen ever morning since she had come to train with her friends. She felt tired and spent, but at least her body was no longer hurting from all the training. She must have slept pretty long. Blinking back tiredness, she tried to rise, but felt a light hand push her down again. When she turned her head slowly, she saw Vegetto sitting at the side of her bed, watching her with those unreadable black eyes.

"Easy there, you accomplished quite enough for the moment." he said.

Accomplished enough? Videl blinked trying to remember. She had been outside, training while the others were sleeping. Of course, the effort was almost futile, but she just hated the fact that she was unable to really help her friends. Then the Sayan girl, Jari, had come out. They had talked a bit and Jari had proposed to spar with her. She had accepted and the fight had gone quite OK for Videl's standards. Then her memory got a bit blurry. She seemed to remember that she was then driven back by Jari, of course, and suffered a few nasty hits. And then…

"What…what happened?" Videl asked softly, looking to Vegetto.

"I am not quite sure myself." The Superwarrior replied and smiled almost apologetically.

"Do you remember the fight you had with Jari?" he continued then.

Videl nodded and narrowed her eyes, trying to remember exactly what had happened.

"I was furious. I was so angry that I was not stronger, that I could do nothing to help my friends in this battle, in any of their battles, my husband, my children. I remember how Jari hit me and how I flew back. I….I think I got up…and…and I remember a strange feeling…"

Vegetto nodded, urging her to go on.

"There…there was a light…a red light…asomething…I felt hot…like burning, but it wasn't harming me…" Videl shook her head. Her memories were returning, but it was still a haze. As she concentrated again, focussing on those last moments of the fight, she suddenly found a clear image in her hind. The image of Jari falling away from Videl, slamming into the ground.

"Wait…wait…did…I mean did someone help me back there?" she asked.

Vegetto smiled and shook his head.

"No one came to help you. You did this yourself." he said and chuckled. "Jari wants a rematch by the way."

Videl stared at the man with wide open eyes, not quite ready to believe what he was saying but then again, why should he lie? She had never been able to even harm any of them, not Gohan, not Trunks, not even her own kids. They were all much stronger than she was, due to the Sayan blood in their veins. Jari was a Sayan, a full blooded at that and she knew that she was strong. How could Videl, a mere human, have scored a real hit, a hit that had hurt?

"If you are asking yourself how you managed it, I cannot really answer you. All I know is that you rose above ordinary humans back there. You grew stronger, much stronger than any human before you. You underwent some transformation which I have no name for. Not even Kaio-sama knows about this, which leads me to believe that you are the first to ever master something like this. Possibly, the Kaioshin would know about it, but it's not worth to go to him and ask. Kaio-sama is asking, but in the meantime, we should get on with the training."

Videl was still staring at vegetto through wide eyes. She? Reaching a level of power unknown so far?

"But…but I mean…all the others?" she stammered.

Vegetto shrugged his shoulders and winked.

"I was…well, no, I was not surprised. Videl, you have a very strong will and you have been living through times side by side with Sayans. Possibly, because you have experienced powers which no human has experienced before, you have worked harder, your psyche evolved and allowed you to reach this level of power. How it happened, I do not know. Kurilin learned and studied beside me all these years, yet he never managed to reach your power level. Yamchu, Tenshinhan, even Master Roshi, they are all…well, weaklings compared to you now."

Again, Videl stared at Vegetto, then swallowed hard.

"Wow…" was all she could say.

Vegetto laughed and nodded.

"All right, I think you are fit to get up and continue training. You should learn to control that state and go to it at will."

He nodded and Videl, nodding herself, got out of bed, standing up and inclinging her head.

"What was that about a rematch?" she asked as they both left the room to head for the training area.

Vegetto laughed heartily at that and winked.

"Jari IS a Sayan. She doesn't take defeat lightly, so you will have to fight her again…sooner or later."

/Taris Prime/

Ssiti was afraid. Well, maybe not afraid, but anxious and that was saying something. Being the wife of a Saya-jin in an Empire where Sayan's were hated, mistrusted and feared, she had dealt with much fear in her life, fear for her husband, for herself. In truth, there had seldom been a day when she hadn't been afraid, deep down in her heart, but with time, she had learned to shut out those things, to concentrate on the happy moments in her life, few as they were.

She could remember, quite keenly, when she had first laid eyes on Kavri. It had been a parade of the King. Ssiti had been inclined not to go, but everyone had to attend, such was the law in the Tarisian Empire. So she had stood, quite up close to the front actually, because her parents and sisterswere loyal and fanatic about it, screaming and shouting the mantras of admiration for their leader. Ssitie herself had spoken the words, but it was just that, words. Her heart wasn't in it. Why, she couldn't say. She had been raised as a good child, a child of the Empire, but something had refused to believe the King was above everyone. She accepted that he was powerful, too powerful for anyone to beat, at least anyone they knew.

So she had stood there, staring at the parade, watching the columns of warriors march past the cheering crowds without really getting into the spirit of the festival, but in the crowd, she wasn't really noticed. As warrior after warrior filed past, she thought of home and of what she wanted to do the next day, but then, her eyes suddenly rested on Kavri. The crowd had begun to hiss and spit angrily, because now the column of Sayan warriors marched past slowly. There were only a dozen of them and Kavri was the last one to walk by. She had seen Sayan's before, on such parades and on pictures, had learned to fear them, just like every other child had, but that man, that Sayan, captivated her. He held his head high and around his neck, plainly visible, was the Pain Collar, attached to all Sayan's still alive, but somehow, that it didn't seem to restrain him. His eyes, pitch black, but burning with strength and pride, a determination to live and to face anything that would oppose him. She had never before seen such eyes, not even on Sayan's. True, most Sayan's were proud, but those in service were usually subdued creatures, forced into such behaviour by their collars, but this one was different.

When they had returned that night, Ssiti had excused herself early and had tried to clear her mind of the images, tried to deny what she was feeling, that she was indeed attracted to this Sayajin. It couldn't be! She had spent hours studying the records of Sayan cruelties, picturing their lust for combat coupled with their destructive power and still the feelings wouldn't go away.

And then, only two days later, Kavri had turned up at her house. She remembered it quite keenly. Her parents were in shock, in panic, even though Kavri had been escorted by two Guards and was wearing the Pain Collar as always. They hadn't dared say anything, but Kavri had been as polite as could be. He had introduced himself, had explained his position in the Imperial Forces and had formally asked them to see their daughter, Ssiti. Ssiti herself had listened to his quiet, calm voice from behind a corner and when her parents had agreed, she had immediately come out.

His gaze had traveled over her, quickly, but so intense! She could still feel the shivers running over her skin, could remember how she had felt like a little girl, lost in love. Everything else had just been a formality. Her parents were not pleased, but they didn't dare say anything, particularily since the King himself had granted Kavri's wish. Ssiti had learned later that the King's exact words had been: "You may go and take her as you please. You have my agreement."

She had known, even back then, that her decision would bring her a life of lower status, of less possibilities, but she had decided to follow her heart, and never once had she regretted it. True, she had been looked down upon, she had been subject of ridicule and she had had to learn to live with fear, but the love the two of them shared compensated for all of that.

No, she was not afraid of what was to come, just a bit anxious, so she prepared to depart the day after Kavri had left. She didn't need much, some clothes and her most treasured belongings, which she put into a carrying bag and then glanced about the small apartment she had lived in for 10 years now. It wasn't really much to look at and whatever it might have been, home, was where her heart resided, and that was with Kavri, so it didn't hurt her or disturb her that she would leave the Empire forever. She took the bag, slung it over her shoulder and then left the apartment quietly.

/In Space – Destination Earth – ETA 10 months/

The seething anger Kavri had felt when he had first discovered the Tarisian-Sayan Breeding Program had subsided somewhat, but only because Kavri kept a tight reign on his feelings as to not betray his findings to the others. He knew that if the King ever found out that he, Kavri knew about this, he would probably be terminated and as much as Kavri wanted to smash the King into a pulp right now, he knew that he had no chance.

Kavri was a seasoned fighter and his skills in combat were feared, even by the 1st Circle Warriors. He knew he could defeat one, maybe two of them, but the 1st Circle was nothing compared to Taris himself. The King's power was breathtaking, stunning, terrifying. Kavri had seen it, had felt it and he always felt it when he was around the King. His keen senses could detect the raging power inside the man, ready to be unleashed whenever he chose to and he knew, that even fully powered up and even in his most powerful transformation, the state of a Super Sayajin 4, the King could still beat him, Kavri knew that and hated the fact, but he had learned to control his anger. One day, the time would come to pay back for the crimes which Taris had commited, but until then, Kavri would wait.

He had spent most of his time training in his quarters, keeping in shape and the rest of the time, he had studied their target. The young Sayan girl named Jari. It was a miracle she was still alive, so much was clear. The King had hunted her down from the day he had first learned of her. She had been the illegal offspring of two Sayan's. The two had been quickly dealt with, but they had managed to send their child away in an escape pod. Since then, Taris was looking for the kid. 10 years and the girl had continually been able to evade them. 5 years ago, Kavri had been sent on her trail and he hadn't been able to catch her either. She never remained on one planet very long before she moved on to another. Kavri had the suspicion that she was looking for someone who could help her, maybe another Sayan.

And now, after 10 years of chasing, the girl had stopped. She had settled on one planet and didn't move. What was more, her signal had vanished, simply like that. Kavri had been intrigued by his scout's report, but he never once trusted the man's words.

Considering her usual behavior, Kavri suspected that she had found someone whom she believed capable and powerful enough to protect her and although Kavri was certain that the girl didn't know the full extent of Taris power, he figured it might be worth checking out. Maybe the person to defeat the King had finally been found. Of course, he kept those suspicions and thoughts to himself. No one in their right mind would suggest something like that openly, but still, it was that thought, and the thought of his beloved Ssiti, which stayed his hand and which let him keep his temper.

So, he spent his day in quiet contemplation and fierce training. The 1st Circle didn't bother him, and he didn't intrude upon them. The journey would still take a while and he didn't want , not with the pictures of the mutilated Sayan girls still fresh in his mind. Even now, he could still feel the tear on his self control when he thought about it. Every time his mind strayed, he would see a face of one of the girls, eyes empty, soulless, hopeless. Every time he thought about it, he strengthened his vow to avenge all of them, to make Taris pay for what he had done.

/Taris Prime/

The way to the Launchpads was not long. Kavri's apartment hadn't been in the best part of the Imperial Grounds, but it was close to the Space Port, for convenience's sake. She walked quickly, not looking back and hoping not to attract any undue attention to herself. Usually, she was not allowed into the area's where the launches took place, but Kavri would have arranged everything.

As she walked briskly along the corridor towards the Launch Area, her eyes caught sight of a movement in a dark alley ahead. She slowed, slightly, wondering if it was a patrol coming out, but a moment later, nothing appeared, although the faint movement remained. She approached, but slowed some more. Robbers and small criminals were not an issue in the Capital City, they were swiftly dealt with and beggars were not tolerated. Just as she was about to decide that it was nothing of her concern, she heard a soft moan coming from the direction of the shadowed alley. Ssiti blinked and turned, peering into the shadows, now curious. She could see a small shape, crouching against the wall and as her eyes adjusted to the dim half light, she also noted that the figure was shivering almost violently. She could not make out who it was, or even if it was man or woman, but the figure had its arms slung around the knees and was rocking back and forth, whimpering and occassionally moaning gently.

"Can I help you?" Ssiti asked, softly, not wishing to alarm this person, who obviously needed help. She took a step closer, but as she spoke, the figure bolted upright, surprised. Ssiti had the fleeting impression of a pair of large, shocked black eyes and could now see that it was a girl. Height and build suggested her to be about 14, maybe 15 years of age, but the darkness didn't allow Ssiti to make out details. Then the girl whirled around and set off at a run, but only a step later, either her strength left her, or she was so exhausted that she couldn't walk right anymore. She stumbled and fell to the ground. A yelp of pain came from the fallen and Ssiti, now thoroughly puzzled followed quickly, coming to the girl's side and kneeling down.

"I do not mean you any harm." she said soothingly.

Now that she was closer, she could make out a bit more of the girl's features. Her hair was black and untidy, short-cropped, but a wild tangle still. Her features were a mask of terror and pain, and the eyes which looked at Ssiti were eyes which had never seen kindness before and which therefor saw kindness as just another way to be cruel. Ssiti shook her head and smiled still, trying to look as gentle as she could, but her eyes suddenly widened in shock as she looked the girl over. She barely managed to keep quiet as she fixed her gaze on the backside of the girl. There, clearly visible now that she was adjusted to the darkness, was a long, furry tail, whipping back and forth with anxiety.

Needless to say, Ssiti was in shock. According to officials, according to her teachers, there were no female Sayajin left in the Empire, probably not in the galaxy. According to officials, the girl right in front of Ssiti, trembling with unrestrained fear couldn't exist, but she did. And she was Sayan, no doubt. Now that Ssiti could look her up and down closely, she saw all the hallmarks of a full blooded Sayajin. The black eyes, the wild and untameable hair (how often she had complained to Kavri about that!), and of course, the tail. No! This had to be a trick! It couldn't be true. How could a Sayan girl survive, especially here in the Empire? It was just not possible!

Ssiti called her thoughts to order, figuring that there would be enough time to decide if this was a trick later. Whatever the girl was, she obviously needed help. Now that she had recovered a bit from the shock, she could see several bleeding wounds on the girl's body, though for some reason, they seemed odd to Ssiti. She had seen combat wounds, wounds inflicted by weapons and hands, even by claws, but this was nothing of the sort. This seemed more like surgical cuts and now that her eyes were no longer fastened to the tail, she also saw that the eyes of the girl were not alike. They were both black, yes, but one of the eyes had a metallic glimmer about it that made Ssiti suspect it was an implant.

"I will not harm you." she said again, holding out her open hands to demonstrate her intentions of goodwill.

The girl looked at her with wide open eyes. She did not relax, was still shivering and breathing deeply, but at least she didn't try to run away anymore.

"Who are you?" she asked, inclining her head and looking back over her shoulder to make sure no one was near.

The girl shook her head, though it was not clear if she simply didn't understand Ssiti or if she didn't want to answer.

"All right, you obviously need some help."

But Ssiti also knew that she couldn't well take this girl to a local hospital. Any sign of a Sayan girl would be reported to the higher authorities and the girl would be executed in an instant. Probably there wouldn't even be a report and the girl would simply vanish, maybe Ssiti along with her as to ensure that no one would know that a Sayan female had been among them. That of course, brought back the question why there was a Sayan female crouching in a corridor in the Capital, but Ssiti shoved that aside for the time being. If she didn't do anything to help the girl, she would not survive the day. It was early morning, so there was little traffic, but soon enough there would be crowds of people walking along these corridors and she would be noticed.

"If you want to survive, then…then curl your tail around your waist and do not speak. I will take you to a…safer place." she said softly and the Sayan girl widened her eyes a bit more.

"We do not have much time girl." Ssiti continued and offered her hand to help the girl up.

She did not take the hand, but she got up and, after looking at Ssiti again very closely, she nodded, slowly, but she did nod and she did curl her tail around her waist. Any casual onlooker would not be able to tell it from a normal belt and it wouldn't be long till Ssiti was off this planet. She knew that a Sayan capsule was only constructed for one person, but she also knew that the mightiest Sayan warriors could ride in there and Ssiti was short, as was the Sayan girl. They would be a bit cramped, but it should work.

She nodded and indicated that the girl should walk beside her before she turned and continued her way towards the launch pads. Her mind was racing with questions which she dared not ask right now. Time was of the essence. She knew that Kavri's friend would not wait forever with the launch and she would be a few minutes late.

The two women arrived at the launchpad area. Kavri's Operator friend was already waiting, a bit anxious, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted Ssiti and a moment later his brows knitted in suspicion.

"Kavri didn't say anything about two people!" he said immediately and a bit angrily. Ssiti nodded and bowed lightly as was required ofher.

"I know, but this is our most trusted slave and I cannot leave without her."

The man blinked and inclined his head thoughtfully.

"Well, she is small. I suppose it will not be a problem for you and her to fit in there."

He nodded, then opened the gate to the capsule in which they would ride. The hatch was open and Ssiti quickly stowed the little luggage inside, then motioned for the girl to go in first. She still looked very frightened, which suited the position as slave pretty well, but she ventured inside and curled up tightly. Ssiti looked to the Launch Operator again, bowed and whispered a soft 'thank you' before she, too, ventured into the small cabin and sat down. The Operator mumbled something incomprehensible, closed the lid of the capsule, checked the auxiliary connections and then left the area of the launchpad. Ssiti was now alone with the Sayan girl and she would be for a rather long, time, too. She glanced to the girl, who was still curled up and had her eyes closed, almost as if expecting some kind of punishment. Ssiti sighed and cleared her throat.

"Do you have a name, girl?" she asked softly. It wouldn't do to call her girl all the time.

The Sayan blinked her large eyes open and looked at Ssiti again. Her eyes, they were….troubling. There was such a deep level of fear in them, such a bone deep distrust of everything, of the world in general. There was horror, too, fear. It was hard to imagine that this should be indeed a Sayan girl. Ssiti knew what Sayan's were like and this….this was not befitting. She was about to ask again when the girl spoke, timidly and quietly.

"Arisa."

Ssiti smiled softly and nodded, inclining her head and fixing her reptilian eyes on the girl.

"Arisa. My name is Ssiti…" she was about to say something else, but then she noticed the red launc indicator.

"You better hold on tight now Arisa. We're about to launch."

The girl blinked and held onto the seat and a moment later, Ssiti felt the enormous pressure on her as the Sayan capsule rocketed off into space. She had never traveled space in a Sayan capsule and, where normally, space travel was quite comfortable now, these capsules were built for pure speed. She felt the weight of 20 times her own body pressing her into the seat, blasting the air out of her lungs, but it only lasted for a few seconds. The terrible pressure lifted off her as the capsule left behind the planets atmosphere and entered space.

"Are you OK?" she asked, turning to Arisa.

The Sayan was looking at her oddly and inclined her head, almost questioning.

"Uh….did something happen just now?" she asked, her voice quiet and her tone devote, again, almost as if expecting punishment. Ssiti raised a brow. Well, a launch like this was definitely not something you missed easily, but then again, she was a Sayan, so maybe she had at least their physique and she knew that Kavri traveled with these things all the time, so maybe they didn't even realize the pressure on them. She looked at Arisa, who looked back to her with big, fearful eyes.

'This is going to be a very long trip…' Ssiti thought to herself and thus, her journey to Earth began.


	6. Advancing the Game

**Chapter 6**  
Advancing the Game

„_Years of studies have been, sad to say,  
__wasted on trying to understand and copy  
__the Sayan physique. Although we managed  
__to change and augment several features,  
__we never fully understood how the body  
__of a Sayan worked. Maybe it was this  
__mystery that made us struggle even more."_

_- Dr. Serath Haltrik  
__A Study of Tarisian History_

/ Earth /

Videl felt good. It wasn't just the fact that she had just taken a refreshing shower and that, for the first time in several days, she factually felt clean again, it was more the fact that she had been 'promoted' in the ranks of trainees. Although she still didn't fully understand how it had happened, she had by now managed to control the change, the Limit Break as Vegetto had called it. She could transform at will and she was learning to control the power that surged through her every time she did so. How often she had dreamed to be of more use to her friends and loved ones, to be able to compete against them and fight with them. How many times had she found herself, testing her limits during nighttime, when her children and her husband were asleep. Gohan had slacked in his training. He did train, but only occasionally. He was far from best form, far from the levels of power he had controlled during the fight against Cell or against the Demon. Videl had trained, every day in her life, ever since she had been old enough to understand that her father was the strongest person in the world (yeah right, still one of the biggest jokes in history). She had pushed herself constantly onward, even when she had realized that she was, indeed, the strongest human on earth, having surpassed her father without knowing it. Gohan had shown her the way to reach even higher peaks of her strength, but even now, even when he had concentrated on his studies and his job as a teacher, he had always been stronger, just by being what he was. Mildly put, it had been frustrating.

Now, things were different. Something, maybe the training in this bizarre environment, had allowed her to reach and break the limit of humankind. She had advanced to a new state of power, of strength and speed. Even though she was still no match for a Sayajin, she had found that humans were capable of advancing. Maybe it was harder for them than it was for Sayans, to whom fighting came naturally, but it was possible. This knowledge made Videl even more determined to train. In fact, it was only due to Vegetto's words that she had allowed herself a day of rest. After she had first achieved the Limit Break, she had trained harder than ever to master and control it. Now that she could change at will, Vegetto had reasoned that she should rest in order to continue her training with full strength.

She stepped out of the showers in the Room of Spirit and Time and headed to the exit of the building, to watch the others train. The youngest, Bra, Pan and Chira were engaged in a heavy sparring session. Chira was fending off Bra and Pan alone, though hard pressed. All of the three, one half-Sayan and two quarter-Sayans, had achieved the first stage of 'golden hairdness' as Videl liked to call it, mostly to tease the three. She chuckled lightly as she remembered the tantrum Bra and Pan had thrown when Vegetto had made them cut off their long hair. When they had first transformed, their waist long hair had been a hindrance in their fighting, so Vegetto had given them the choice of continuing their training and cutting the hair off, or leaving and keeping the hair. Bra and Pan had been close to leaving, but Chira had convinced them to stay. Videl guessed that the surge of power they must have felt had been a deciding factor, too. Like for her, it had been the first glimpse of their true potential and she knew that it was a sensation which was hard to ignore. Videl herself, despite being Chira's and Pan's mother, had not intervened. It had cost her some self-control to keep from asking them to leave, because in the end, they were training for a fight to the death and allowing them to remain here and continue their training went against her instincts. Still, she knew that, even though Pan might let herself be persuaded not to fight, there was no force in the world which would stop Chira from helping her father and friends in the upcoming fight and Videl had figured that it would be better that she be trained here, by the best, than let her enter the fight after only having trained for herself.

As she sat down on the steps to the building, her gaze traveled to C18, Trunks and Goten. Another smile came to her lips. The two teenaged boys had a hard time dealing with the fact that they were being beaten by a woman, but C18 simply was better than them. Even though they had advanced considerably, the android woman just advanced with, almost as though she was copying them. The only time they would beat her, was when they used the Fusion technique, but Vegetto had forbidden the use of that, pointing out that they could not rely only on that alone and that they had to be strong as individuals as well as combined. When they pointed out that it was pretty unfair coming from him, he simply retorted that his Fusion would last forever, however their Fusion only lasted 15 minutes and the fight which was coming would not last only 15 minutes, no matter how powerful they were in their fused state.

She continued to watch them for a while, knowing that from tomorrow on, she would train with them. Another thing about her transformation was the fact that it boosted her power much more than the famed Super-Sayan state did with the others. Bra, Pan and Chira all had been stronger than her even before they had reached Super Sayan, but she had no trouble dealing with them when she used her Limit Break technique, even if they did use their Super Sayajin powers.

A moment later, she let her gaze travel to her husband, Gohan and Jari. Vegetto had left them to train on their own, giving no explanation, although it was quite obvious to everyone why. Even though the two were the strongest of the group, they simply had no chance against him. Even Jari, who was advancing almost frighteningly fast, having achieved Super Sayajin 2 already and by now stronger than Gohan and, according to Vegetto, close to the next stage, could not even scratch the fused super warrior. Vegetto had left them here, occasionally visiting them to give instructions, comment on their advancement or eat with them, but most of the time, he was not to be seen, and not to be felt either. They knew of course that he was training somewhere by himself. Still, she marvelled at the display of power the two put on. Jari, fury incarnated was attacking Gohan with everything she had and Videl's husband was hard pressed to fend off the furious assault. The speed with which the two moved and fought was incredible. Even with her newfound power, Videl knew that she still was no match for them. Jari had, as Vegetto had promised, challenged her to a duel. Videl had lost, but still, she had felt triumphant afterwards, because she had been able to hit Jari a few times and she thought that the hits had hurt the Sayan girl, too, which, for Videl, was a breakthrough all in itself.

She liked Jari. Maybe they were maternal instincts, but she couldn't help and feel sympathy for her, knowing of her past and of her loneliness. She still remembered the tears of joy the young girl had cried when she had realized that Vegetto was a Sayajin, like herself and that her search, her flight, had finally found an end. The determination in the girl's eyes was the same determination Videl could see in her own when she looked in the mirror and she wished that Jari would be able to find some peace, if only peace of mind here.

Her gaze drifted off to the nothingness which was the Room of Spirit and Time. Vegetto had explained that the room stretched into eternity and it was not difficult to lose oneself in it. Once lost, it was near impossible to find the exit again, which is why he had cautioned them never to stray too far from the entrance building. He however, either had senses they hadn't, or he threw caution to the wind, because he was nowhere near the building when he trained by himself. Videl was of half a mind to go out there and look for the Super Warrior, if only to see how he trained. She knew that they had not seen his full potential, that he had not shown them what he was really capable of and, like the others, she was curious.

Just as she decided that it wasn't really worth the risk, the ground began to tremble violently beneath her and she widened her eyes with shock. Her senses tingled with the almost painful amount of power they registered. It was so strong, so scorching, that she could not even pinpoint where it came from. It seemed to be all around them as a faint rumbling grew in volume and the trembling grew into shaking. The others had stopped their training and their reactions didn't differ much from her own. They stared, wide eyed, obviously trying and failing to pinpoint the source of the power. They all knew who it was of course. There was just one being besides them who was in this room.

A moment later, Videl almost lost her footing as a powerful shockwave rushed over the area. She grit her teeth, raising her arms to shield her eyes. The room, which usually was all in white now was glowing an eerie gold, so bright it almost hurt the eyes.

"My god..." she heard Jari shout. "If this keeps up, this area will be vaporized."

She wasn't exaggerating. Videl, too felt that the tidal amounts of energy flowing around them were barely contained by the fabric of this surreal world. It felt as though the room would soon burst with it.

A moment later however, the energy vanished. From one second to the next, the shaking of the ground ceased and the awesome display of power was at an end. Whatever Vegetto had been doing, he had stopped. Videl looked from Jari to Gohan, searching his eyes. She found the same unspoken question which she knew was mirrored in her own eyes.

If this was Vegetto's power and he was still certain he would not be able to defeat the foe that was coming towards them, how were they supposed to even have a fighting chance?

/ A Sayan Capsule, enroute to Earth /

Ssiti sighed softly, watching as the stars streaked past outside. They had been traveling for 6 months now and it was one of the standard waking phases of their trip. The computer of the small ship regulated the sleep of the passenger, in this case of the two passengers, so that they remained asleep for most of the trip, but were reanimated periodically to allow them to make course adjustments, to check for new directives from Mission Control and to simply stretch their muscles. Ssiti had used these waking periods to try and gain the trust of the girl she had taken along. The girl which was not supposed to exist. The Sayan girl.

It had taken some time for Ssiti to get her to talk but when she had begun, there seemed to be no end and Ssiti had often wished that she could make her stop. Not because she was getting on her nerves, or because it was so boring, but because her descriptions were simply too cruel and gruesome to digest easily. She had told Ssiti the story of her life and as it had turned out, that life had been one of torture, abuse and loneliness. At first, she had wanted to dismiss the story as a complete lie, to simply not accept what the girl was telling her, but after all, she had no reason to lie. Ssiti had slowly begun to accept the words as truth and with every word, with every waking hour that Ssiti spent thinking about what she now knew, she hated her former home more. Her love for the Tarisian Empire had been weakened by her life with Kavri, but this was beyond anything she could have imagined and she knew that once she told Kavri about this, his rage would know no bounds.

Arisa herself had cried a lot during her recounting and Ssiti had found herself consoling the young girl, trying to ease her pain and suffering, if only a little. Gradually, a bond of trust had begun to form between them and it had grown in strength during the 6 months of their journey. Already, Ssiti was coming to see Arisa as something like an adopted daughter and she thought that the feeling was mutual. Arisa was longing for someone to trust, for someone to protect her and hold her, something she had not known in her entire life and Ssiti offered that.

Born in a laboratory, Arisa had never seen her mother. Even though she couldn't remember, she knew that she had been taken from her mother right after birth. Her own child had been taken from her the same way and her mother had probably not been older than herself when she had given birth to her. From babyhood on, she had been tested, experimented on. Things which were too horrible to speak of, but Tarisian scientists had done them all, had altered their genes, had replaced bones and skin, used cybernetic and biotechnical implants, had experimented with pain and injury to measure the Sayan physique. She couldn't speak of details, because the understanding of the things which had been done to her went beyond her, but her descriptions told Ssiti quite enough to feel the need to throw up.

All of this had been done in secret, of course. All across the Empire, people believed that the Sayajin had been exerminated, except for the few individuals serving in the Tarisian army and their numbers amounted to no more than maybe 20. It had been told that the Sayajin would never again be able to terrorize the galaxy, because no females existed to continue their race and the males still alive were not allowed to sire offspring. They were enslaved and their will broken, or so it appeared to everyone. Nobody had known that it was a facade. A facade for what? Ssiti had thought long and hard about this and she could only think of one reason. Taris was afraid of the Sayan's and he wanted to be able to harness their power, possibly even further his own power by exploiting theirs. She knew that Taris had a daughter, although no one had yet seen her and she began to suspect why that was so. If her thoughts were correct, Taris had tried to cross his genes with Sayans, even though that was supposed to be impossible. Science had possibly made it possible and thus, Arisa's child had been born. Arisa remembered quite clearly that the scientists had commented that the Emperor would be pleased to hear that he had a half Sayan daughter now.

The uproar this would have caused in the Empire. Of course it had been kept a secret and of course no one had been allowed to see the child. It made sense, in a twisted, devious kind of way. Ssiti knew, like everyone else, that the Sayan's had been fierce and proud warriors and that their strength had been legendary, but what was more important, the Sayans had the knack to get stronger with every time they came close to death. That was part of the legend and Ssiti knew it to be true from talks with her husband. Obviously, Taris had wanted to endow his own family line with this special trait, so that his child alone would one day be a worthy successor to his reign, probably growing in power even more than Taris himself had and who would then ever be able to challenge her. The Tarisian Empire had prospered through countless conquers, growing in size and wealth while the Tarisian Army attacked and defeated any opposition they would meet and for a long time, Taris himself had been the spearhead of these invasions. No one was stronger than him, such was the fact, even Kavri acknowledged that. But there were always possibilities and it made sense that Taris would try to ensure that his line remained the strongest in existance. What better way then to cross-breed his own genes with those of the Sayajin?

Ssiti shook her head in disgust and stroked a hand through the spiky black hair of Arisa who was curled up next to her, eyes closed but not sleeping.

"Ssiti…" Arisa spoke softly, her voice a mere whisper in the silence of the capsule.

"Yes?" she turned her head, looking down into the black orbs of Arisa's gaze.

"Why…are you helping me?" she asked slowly. There was still fear in her voice, there was still doubt and hesitation, but she was slowly gaining some trust and with it, was realizing that now she had a life ahead of her, one that was not constrained to a laboratory.

Ssiti herself had thought about that question for a long time. Why had she taken the Sayan girl along? The most obvious reason was, of course, that she owed it to her husband. He would have wanted her to do so if she had a chance, but that was not the only reason.

For a long time, longer even than her marriage with Kavri, she had been restless and had despised the way the Tarisian Empire worked. Her family might turn their heads because they lived in luxury, but not so Ssiti. She had seen the fear in every pair of eyes she met on the streets of Taris Prime and any other world she had set foot on. The Tarisian Empire had once been ruled by rightful Emperors, leading their charges with a gentle but firm regency, but these days were long gone. It was just a terror regime and anyone who would try to speak his mind openly, or who even said something against the government, soon found himself vanished without a trace and without explanation.

Maybe it had been her small act of rebellion to help this Sayan girl flee from er torturers.

"I am married to one of your kind Arisa. I love him very much and I know that he would have wanted me to help you." she answered, smiling faintly.

"Besides, you needed help and I knew you wouldn't receive it from anyone else…"

Arisa nodded slowly, satisfied with the explanation, or too afraid to continue to ask.

Ssiti glanced away from Arisa to the main control panels where the screen pictured their course as well as a group of signals not far behind them. The computer identified them as Sayan Capsules and Ssiti knew that they were sent after her to kill her for her transgression. She smiled faintly and shook her head. The future did not look nice at all right now, but she knew that everything would turn out to be right.

Somehow.

/ Imperial Ship, enroute to Earth /

Kavri was sweating and breathing heavily. He was going through his daily training routine, which he had intensified more and more with each passing day on board. It wasn't hard to keep going. All he had to do was picture the report he had read and his fury would cause him to push onwards. His strength and power were increasing rapidly, but he knew, with some frustration, that it was still far beyond him to attack Taris, or the First Circle members. Still, he continued to train, prepare, because he knew that once they reached Earth, things would happen very quickly and their ETA was only 3 months away now.

There was also a new puzzle to be solved for him. He had access to every area of the ship, except for Taris's quarters, to whom nobody but himself had access in any case. However, he had seen someone walking into these very quarters, someone other than Taris. He couldn't be entirely certain because whoever or whatever it had been had moved too fast and he had not really been paying attention, but he was pretty sure that it had been a humanoid figure, but of different build than Taris.

So who then, besides Taris, would be allowed to go in there? He had not brought any of his love slaves and even the First Circle would know better than to simply walk into the chambers. Kavri could not figure it out. Even back on Taris prime nobody had access to the Royal Living Quarters, nobody except Taris and whomever he would take along with him, but nobody, absolutely nobody would enter the private living space without being accompanied by Taris himself.

He shook his head lightly and finished the routine he was currently carrying out, taking a towel from the bench at the sides of the training area and dried off his sweat-drenched features.

"So, the Sayan scumbag is training at these hours, I see." a sniding voice echoed through the hall. Kavri knew to whom that voice belonged. It was one of the First Circle members, the lowest ranking of them when it came to fighting prowess, but the one with the biggest mouth in any case. He chose not reply to his comment and continued to towel himself off instead.

"Trying to get stronger, is he? Pity your kind could never stand a chance against us." The broad shouldered, blue haired guy said with sarcasm dripping from his voice as he appraoched Kavri. The Sayan warrior merely shrugged and began with some muscle relaxing exercises to finish his training.

"A wasted effort. You simply are too weak to be of any consequence."

Kavri smiled faintly, albeit the First Circle Guard could not see it.

"If you say so m'lord." he said, polite but without any kind of emotion in his voice. He was not fool enough to try and provoke him. All First Circle members carried a Pain generator which allowed them to manipulate the Pain Collars at will. Kavri was not afraid of pain, but it would do no good to be a nervous wreck for the rest of the journey.

"That must really hurt, no? Having to say such a thing to me, hm?"

Kavri stood up and shrugged his shoulders softly, finishing with his training and draping the towel over his shoulders.

"If you'll excuse me, I do not wish to disturb your lordship during training." he said, bowing lightly and retreating towards the exit.

"You are a sorry excuse for a warrior Kavri! You are a remnant of a weak race!" the Guard shouted after him, but even though the words did hurt Kavri inside, he didn't show any reaction, merely nodded and continued out of training area. Only when the door closed behind him, hiding the smirking features of the guard did Kavri allow himself to show some of the fury in his eyes. They would all pay for what they had done and he was going to make sure that each and every one of them knew the true meaning of terror and pain before they went down.

/ Earth /

At first, Jari had not been able to understand how her newfound allies, friends, were able to relax and joke around while they knew that a terrible danger was coming towards them. Vegetto had announced that their first trip to the Room of Sprit and Time was over and that for the next months, they would train in the real world, after two weeks of holiday. The others had cheered at the announcement and Jari had to admit, she was eager to leave this strange place where they all had been cooped up for a year now, but she was the only one who had protested.

"Holiday??? How can you think of Holiday when this monster is coming ever closer? We have to continue training!" she had shouted at Vegetto, who had merely smiled and patted her head in the almost fatherly fashion which he used towards her often.

"We need some time to rest and relax. You have trained an entire year inside a single day now and your body needs some time to regenerate strength and to get rid of fatigue."

She had been about to continue her protest, but Vegetto had cut her short.

"There will be no discussion. You will join us and have a good time!"

What a strange order, but Jari had grit her teeth and accepted, knowing that there was no way she could convince Vegetto otherwise anyway.

So here she sat, among all those people who had experienced so much together and who knew each other for such a long time. She felt a bit alone, sitting on the grassy field near the house which Vegetto, or a part of him had called home. The food was plenty and very good, so much she had tested already and a slight grin crossed her lips as she remembered how cheerful Vegetto had been on the trip here.

"You seem a bit lost." she heard someone say next to her and to her surprise, she found the human, Videl sitting there. Apparently, she had come to her side without Jari noticing.

"Well…everyone here knows each other. I feel a bit like…an intruder…" she said, shrugging her shoulders and smiling slightly.

Videl nodded and leaned back a bit, watching as her two kids played a game of chase with Trunks and Goten.

"I know what you mean. Believe me, when I first met Gohan, I felt much the same, especially after finding out what these people are capable of. It was a huge shock and for a long time, I didn't believe I could ever fit into their world, but they accepted me readily."

She winked and looked at Jari again.

"How old are you?" she asked out of the blue.

Jari blinked and blushed a bit for no apparent reason.

"I'm 16, turning 17 this year if I haven't miscalculated somewhere." she replied, staring at the ground.

"Then you're not supposed to sit here and act all grown up. This might be a last chance to have some fun in childish games." Videl said.

Jari turned and stared at Videl with disbelief in her eyes.

"Excuse me? Childish…games?" she blinked hard, shaking her head. Videl couldn't be serious!

"Yeah, you know like…them!" Videl nodded and pointed at Chira who was chasing after Trunks wildly.

"They're kids!" Jari grumbled and shook her head.

"Oh, and you're an adult, hm?" Videl chuckled and then poked Jari in the side, which made the girl squirm which in turn made Videl laugh a bit more.

"Come on…or are you too slow to get back at me?" Videl chided and took to the air from her sitting position, waving at Jari with a teasing smile.

Jari grumbled and turned around, reaching forward quickly to try and grab Videl's hand, but the human woman was ready and suddenly accelerated. Jari hesitated only a moment longer, then she took off the ground herself and charged after Videl, who was leading her in a wild chase, laughing, a sound which was soon echoed by Jari herself, to her own surprise.

On the ground, Vegetto was glancing up at the kids with a slight smile on his lips. Some of them were his grandchildren, others his kids and he felt attached to all of them in a way. After returning home, he had had a long talk with Chi Chi and Bulma, both of whom he owed a more thorough explanation as well as apologies. One of the reasons which had driven himto leave was still present and that was that he, as one man, could not live the life of two. It had taken a while, but in the end, they had both agreed that he was right. He suspected that they both had somehow closed the chapter of their previous husbands in their lives during his long absence and he couldn't blame them. Despite the fact that his feelings were a culmination of Goku's and Vegeta's, he knew that his love for these two women would ultimately destroy them, mostly because he simply saw no way of living in both their lives. Granted, both had been used to their husbands being away often and long, but how could they accept that their husbands were one person and had to alternate between them? No, that was not possible and as much as it pained him, he had to let go of them.

His thoughts returned to the here and now when Gohan approached him, sitting down on the grass and looking up as well.

"You're awfully quiet father." he stated.

"The silence before the storm." Vegetto commented dryly, his strange voice speaking in quiet tones.

"Seriously, what are you thinking about?" Gohan asked, turning to look at Vegetto, regarding that strange mix of his father's features with those of Vegeta.

"I was thinking about their future." Vegetto replied, nodding up to the children still dedicated to their game.

Gohan nodded slowly and sighed, leaning back on his elbows and staring up.

"I was younger when I first had to fight….against Frieza." he commented. "But still I had hoped that my own children would not have to go through the same. I had hoped this peace was for good."

Vegetto chuckled and shook his head.

"Your human side is very strong, always has been. I think Pan inherited that from you, but Bra and Chira…they're both more Sayan than their parents would like to think." he said.

Gohan frowned briefly, but then nodded again.

"You're right, but that doesn't make it any better. Not when I see your features clouded with worry when you think of the upcoming fight. If you worry about it, what should we do?"

Vegetto remained quiet for a moment after this question, staring at the young boys and girls up in the sky, soaring around as if there was no care in the world on their minds. Gohan's question was a good one and Vegetto had thought long and hard about wether or not he would even allow the children to train with them, yet he had known even then, that there was no choice. They all had to fight a fight which would start here, on Earth, but which would not end here. He knew, even though he couldn't be certain why. Something inside him told him that this upcoming fight wasn't just…a fight in itself. It was a war and on their shoulders rested the outcome of that war and thus the fate of all.

"Train well and remember why you fight, always." Vegetto finally answered and looked to Gohan.

"The battle ahead will not be decided in a day, not in a week, perhaps not even in a year. You must remember for what you fight and keep that knowledge in your heart."

Gohan nodded and stood up while Vegetto reached forward to take a glass of juice and sip from it slowly. Only when Gohan was out of earshot did the Sayan warrior whisper.

"And pray…."

End of Chapter 6

P.S.: While writing this I have often wondered how old exactly the individual characters actually are, so here's a little list:

Vegetto: 57/59 (depending on which character you base his age on)  
Jari: 16  
Gohan: 37  
Trunks: 28  
Goten: 27  
Marron: 23  
Pan: 15  
Chira: 14  
Videl: 36  
Bra: 14  
Chichi: 57  
Bulma: 61  
C18: as if it matters ;)


	7. The Calm before the Storm

Chapter 7 

The Calm before the Storm

„_History describes the arrival of  
__the Imperial Ship on Earth as the  
__first day of the Great War. That is  
__not entirely correct. The war itself  
__began 5 days later when the  
__Tarisian Shocktroops arrived on  
__Earth in pursuit of Lady Ssiti and  
__High Warrioress Arisa."_

_- Modern History  
__The Earth-Tarisian War_

/ Earth /

They were back in the Room of Spirit and Time. Gradually, Jari was beginning to hate this place. The constant white light, the constant feeling of uneasiness, resulting, as Vegetto had explained, from the body trying to adjust to the new flow of time, all of this created more stress on them, adding to the exhaustion. Of course, it was a cost that was gladly paid, considering how much more time the fighters gained by training here and apart from that, the gravity generators in this place could handle more than even those constructed by the Capsule Corporation. During the time she had spent with the others outside this room, Jari had slowly begun to get to know her new ‚partners' and also had learned to like all of them, especially the casual, friendly way in which they all treated each other. There was a strange bond between them, probably forged throughout the battles they had fought together in their lives, a bond for which Jari envied them a little to be honest. To her surprise, she had been added into the group without question, without reluctance. In no more than two short days, she had developed feelings of friendship towards all of them, learning to chuckle at the little quirks all of them had.

Laughing.

A sensation so wonderful, of which she had been deprived throughout most of her life and here, she could do it in abundance. The others showed her how to ease her worries, how to seek refuge in the warmth of the group, how to gain trust from them and how to inspire confidence by laughing at fate. It was wonderful to be part of this group and she hoped against hope, that it would continue to be like this, despite the fact that war was coming. She sighed softly, remembering the last day of their „holiday". Vegetto had asked them all to join him on Kami's lookout. After they had all gathered, the quiet Sayan warrior had turned to them and spoke in a quiet, but serious voice, telling them of what he believed was to come, of the war, not the fight, the war which was coming their way, which would last for much longer than anything all of them had ever experienced. They had all listened quietly, shocked by his words, Jari had seen that. All of them knew fighting, knew combat, but they had always dealt with one decisive battle, not a war in itself. Jari had remained quiet and a deep feeling of guilt had come over her. After all, this would happen because she had come here. These people, people she cared for, would be dragged into a war from which some might not emerge alive, only because she had landed here.

When the others had retreated to their homes for a last night of peace and quiet, Vegetto had remained at Jari's side.

„You know that blaming yourself will not help." he had said quietly.

She had sighed and nodded, standing up and gazing out to the cloudless sky.

„I can't help it. You've shown me what I was missing all those years, and now I am afraid to lose it." she had replied.

At that, Vegetto had chuckled and ruffled a hand through the young girl's hair.

„Sooner or later, you will come to realize that that is one of the things which will guarantee your victory over any foe, in any battle."

When jari thought back to those words, they still brought a slight furrow to her brows, because she still did not understand them. To her, this fear of losing her new friends seemed immobilizing, clouding her mind with thoughts not suited for battle. Still, she had no choice but to trust the older warrior, had she?

„My my, only one day and already brooding again, hm?"

Jari blinked and turned, realizing that she was no longer alone outside the main building. The bright whitness of the room illuminated tired but happy features, rumpled and spiky black hair and clear, lavender colored eyes. It was Chira, daughter of Gohan and Videl and one of the fiercest trainees in the group surprisingly. Jari had grown to like the girl, not only because of her cheerfulness, but also because of the knack she had for soothing Jari's worries with nothing more than a poke or a wink.

„Not brooding, just thinking." Jari replied, smiling faintly.

„Yeah right." Chira chuckled and put her finger on Jari's forehead, poking her lightly.

„That cute wrinkle on your forehead, those fiercely narrowed eyes, don't try to deceive me nee-san, I can see right through you."

Jari blinked and then chuckled, shaking her head at the ease with which Chira managed to brighten her mood, as always.

„OK OK, I was just thinking about what Vegetto told us." She admitted, leaning back against the wall.

Jari nodded in understanding and sat down on the ground next to Jari, leaning back as well.

„You're very strong. It is highly unusual for anyone to advance as fast as you do, you know. You've almost surpassed my dad, though I have to admit, he's grown a bit soft with all the studying he's done." Chira chuckled lightly before continuing. „You shouldn't be too worried about your chances."

Jari bit her lip and shook her head.

„It's not me I'm thinking about." she said, almost in a whisper.

Chira inclined her head cutely and turned, gazing at Jari with a questioning look. Jari smiled and returned the gaze after a moment.

„I'm afraid of losing you. It's strange. I mean, I barely know you all, but you've shown me such kindness and I feel...I feel like I am home and now I'm afraid that some of you will die because I dragged someone here."

Chira blinked and then bapped Jari hard on the forehead, something Jari had not expected at all. She stared at Chira with blinking, puzzled eyes.

„Don't think such a thing, baka. Don't go blaming yourself for something like that. It's not your fault and I'm glad you found your way here in any case..." Chira let the sentence trail off, staring at Jari for a moment, then chuckled and shook her head again.

„If you hadn't come, I would never have had a chance to train here, much less to actually fight!"

Jari remained silent for a long moment, staring at Chira. For a brief moment, something different had been in the younger girls eyes and in her voice, but Jari could not say what it was. So she chuckled and shook her head again.

„You're a true Sayan to boot, aren't you Chira-chan." she said and, in a gesture she had adopted from Vegetto, she ruffled the hair of the younger fighter. Chira laughed slightly and beamed up at her.

„Yeah. My parents tend to say I take after my grandfather a lot."

Jari inclined her head and raised a brow.

„You mean Vegetto?" she asked.

Chira shook her head, smiling a little more.

„No no, only a part of him. You know he's a fused being, right? So one half of him is my grandfather, the other half is Trunks-kun's father. Pretty complicated, I know, but when I say grandpa, I still mean the unfused version, although I actually never got to see or really know him. I only know him from stories myself."

Jari nodded slowly and leaned back again.

„So what was he like, your grandfather?" she asked.

„Oh he was always happy. I think all the stories I heard are the same in that respect. He'd never lose the will to continue, always looked at the worst possible danger with a silly little grin. He loved to fight, really fight, go to his limits, but he never liked to kill." Chira had leaned back again as well, gazing up at the blank whiteness of the Room of Spirit and Time.

„He was full of determination and he could always inspire hope in others, inspire them to go on. I don't know so much about Vegetto, but you see it in him, although he's added a good deal of Vegeta's coldness, grandpa's warmth and joy are still there."

Jari nodded slowly, knowing what the girl meant, having experienced and seen it herself. Of course there was a certain kind of coldness to Vegetto, but it wasn't one that drove you away from him. It was more a collected coolness, letting him keep his head at all times.

"Have you ever blamed your grandfather for what he did? For this...fusion?" Jari asked quietly.

Chira inclined her head again and sighed softly.

"Yeah, yeah I have. I don't like to admit it, but sometimes, I blamed him, mostly because I could see how it affected my father and the others who had known him but hell, he didn't have much of a choice, did he? And that was him, too. He'd do anything to keep those he loved safe from danger."

Jari's gaze returned to Chira for a moment and she noted the soft glitter in the girl's eyes, the sign of harshly controlled tears. She turned away again, staring ahead. She herself had lost her parents at a very young age. Throughout the years, she had almost forgotten about them, all but the last image she had had of them. The bright light overhead, flowing in through the slowly closing capsule. The features of her parents, her mother, crying, her father grim, but sad as well. Those were the last images she had of them, but at least she did have some images. Chira's grandfather had been stolen from her and now he had returned as something else.

Slowly, Jari placed one hand on Chira's shoulder and squeezed it gently. The girl flinched at her touch, staring back at Jari blankly for a moment, again with a look Jari could not quite place.

"I'm sorry for your loss..." Jari whispered.

Chira kept staring at her for a moment, then she slowly nodded and smiled softly.

"Don't be sorry. It's OK. I've got a great family..." she said slowly, then reached up and placed her own hand over Jari's. The Sayan girl smiled in return and then winked slightly.

"Come on, we can start with the warm-ups. The others should be out soon."

Chira nodded, standing up with a light hop and hurrying out into the training area. Jari followed her slowly a soft smile coming to her lips as she realized what Chira's gesture meant and realized, too, that it warmed her heart to think of that.

/ Imperial Ship, approaching Earth /

Kavri was feeling uneasy. Their arrival on Earth was to be soon, only a few days left until the ship would tuch down and still he could not feel any kind of presence besides those of the usual population. There were some who were a bit stronger than others, but none who could match a Sayan warrior, much less the Tarisian First Circle. He could not detect the signature of the girl either, as the First Circle continually reminded him, but he didn't mind that. He knew she was here, the question was just how she would manage to hide herself like that. That was not his only concern however. He knew that the day of Ssiti's arrival was also drawing closer and Kavri was still not sure how to manage to protect her, especially if there was no one but the Sayan girl here. He had hoped that the reason for her signal vanishing would be revealed once they came so close and he had hoped it would be an ally for the girl, someone whom she believed to be strong enough to protect her, but either that was not the case, or that person was hiding with her in which case it came to Kavri's mind that he couldn't be that much of a warrior.

He sighed lightly to himself, forcing the usual mask of controlled apathy onto his features as he stepped into the control room of the Tarisian ship. The First Circle Warriors were all present, all 12 of them as was the King himself. Taris was standing in the center of the room, staring at the green-blue planet which was visible through the main viewer. It was a beautiful world, Kavri thought to himself as he took his accustomed position at the back of the room. No one took any notice of him as he did so, they were all too busy with their own thoughts of what would await them here.

"This is ridiculous!" one of the female warriors, Garida, was saying, shaking her head. "There's not /one/ source of power on that planet that could be a threat to any of us. Hell, a Sayan could conquer this one single handedly."

Kavri did not flinch or react at all at this open hostility, mostly because it was common.

Taris looked over to Garida and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I do not need your advice Garida, not in this matter. You are here in case your services can be of use. It could happen, so be prepared." he snapped.

Kavri noted with some pleasure, that he was in a bad mood. Apparently the lack of a signal, and the lack of anything that could be called opposition was disturbing him. Why that was so, Kavri could not really say, but he took a bit of pleasure out of the King's agitation.

"ETA 2 minutes." one of the control personell said quietly.

Taris looked back to the screen, as did the other warriors. Kavri turned and looked at one of the secondary screens which displayed population density, major cities and geographical abnormities of note. It seemed to be a nice world, habitable and with an eco-system to support a large a large population. A slight smirk came to his lips as he pictured the future face of this world. It would probably not look this nice for much longer.

"Sir! There is another ship, approaching this planet. It's a Sayan Capsule Ship!" one of the officers suddenly interrupted the silence.

Kavri bit his lip. Of course, it had only been a matter of time until the scanners picked up Ssiti's capsule, but he had still hoped that it would have waited until after the landing. Well, it was too late for the King to react anyway. They would land now and Ssiti could land a few days later. That would give Kavri that much time to deal with the King and whatever awaited him on this planet.

"A Sayan Capsule?" the King asked, narrowing his eyes and looking over at the officer.

"Yes my lord!"

"I did not order anyone to follow us." Taris growled and went over to the console of the officer, looking at the information presented on the screen.

"Two passengers??" the King exclaimed suddenly.

Kavri blinked, barely able to control his surprise. Two passengers? How could that be? Who would have traveled with Ssiti, whom would she have brought along with her on this journey? It must have been something very important, or Ssiti would not have tried something like this, would not have adjusted the plan.

"They are due to arive on Earth in 3 days. Well, we shall see who has dared to use a Spaceship without my permission!" Taris growled and looked over to Kavri. The Sayan warrior kept his indifferent look, cautioning himself to remain quiet and subdued as he should be.

Indeed in 3 days, the identity of the passengers would be revealed, but that wouldn't be the only thing to be revealed on this world. That much was clear to Kavri. As the King turned back to the viewscreen, Kavri, too settled his gaze on Earth again. It suddenly seemed much bigger than it had a moment earlier, perhaps, because Kavri realized now, that his fate as well as the fate of the rest of his kind would be decided here and it gave him a slightly chilling feeling. It didn't help to remember that his wife was approaching and looking back now, he began to wish he had not asked her to join him on this. On the other hand, he somehow doubted that he would return to Taris Prime anytime soon and at least here, he could dlo something to protect her from whatever lay ahead. Not that, at this time, his protection would do any good. It all was not adding up as Kavri had hoped at the time of his departure. He had hoped that here, on this world, the Sayan girl had found someone, anyone to help her fight Taris, but it appeared as though no one was here, no one strong enough to even stand a chance.

He narrowed his eyes, the only outward show of his deep thoughts and as usual, that short display of emotion was ignored. He was not worthy of the King's attention after all.

'Goddamn it. I can't do anything! In a few minutes, we'll be touching down on this forsaken world and Taris will annihilate the girl as soon as he finds her.'

Kavri didn't know why, but he did know that somehow, the upcoming events were connected to the girl. How exactly was another question Kavri couldn't answer. She was only one girl and Kavri had never understood why Taris had so relentlessly pursued her. Of course, Taris had made sure that no Sayan female survived the slaughter of the race, but how could /one/ female be of any consequence to him?

Maybe, the answers lay on the world they were now touching down on.

/ Kami's Lookout /

They were all gathered here, a precaution Vegetto had insisted on. Their families and friends had all been transported here, right after the fighters had left the Room of Spirit and Time. Videl reflected on the last days in that strange place again as the others were quietly talking among themselves. These days had been...enlightening. Vegetto had sent all of them off in a different direction with the orders to train for themselves for 7 full days. How and what they trained, was up to them. He had instructed them to remain in that place, alone, until he fetched them when their time in the Room was spent.

So they had spent the last days in solitude. At first, Videl had trained as she was used to, but she realized after the first day of practise, that it was not this kind of training Vegetto had had in mind for them. So she had sat down, contemplating the last year, let the events pass by in her mind's eye, had tried to analyze the advancements she had made, the others had made and how they would help her in the upcoming struggle. Slowly, she had reached a startlingly clear state of mind, one which she had never before experienced. She had continued to contemplate her immediate future, the future which involved all of those she called friends and family. It was clear to her that she would still be not much use to the fighters, despite her, admittedly huge advancements in training. She was still too far behind, too weak to make much of a difference. However, instead of the usual reaction to that realization, sadness, frustration, she now began to question why that was so. Was it really a racial issue? Was it really just the Sayan blood which made the other fighters so much stronger than herself? Or was it something in her mind? Something in the Sayan mindset which allowed them to excell at martial arts, allowed them to continue to surpass themselves in terms of strength and fighting prowess? The next days, she had simply remained sitting there, in her quiet corner of nothingness, allowing her thoughts to drift undirected.

And then she had found something, something unexpected. It had been a kind of vision, really, a supernatural perception maybe, she wasn't entirely sure, but it had clarified many things for her and because of this revelation, she had come out of the Room of Spirit and Time with a light smile on her features, feeling, for the first time in a long while, that she could really make a difference.

Jari was slightly restless. The moment she had stepped out of the Room of Spirit and Time, she had felt the presence of her pursuer, closer than she had ever allowed him to come and so much more powerful than she remembered. And he was not alone. There were other aura's, not as powerful as his, but still flaring brightly. She was thankful to Vegetto for his training, especially the training which allowed her to extinguish her aura and thus remain undetected, or at least inconspicious.

The last days of training had been strange. She had continued her usual routine furiously, pushing herself hard and relentlessly, driving herself to the edge of her capabilities, but she realized that this couldn't have been the reason for which Vegetto had sent them all off by themselves. No, there had to be something else.

So, much against her nature, she had stopped her training, and had begun to meditate. She knew the basics of that, thanks to her lonesome studies in the capsule flight, but she had never really done it, being much too restless for such a thing. Now however, she put honest effort into it, emptying her mind and allowing her spirit to drift. It was a wondrous sensation of quiet peace and she felt the silence, the comforting void for the first time. The experience led her to the beginnings of her race, a strange connection within her kind from the first Sayan to this generation, allowing her to let their brutal past flood by her mind's eye, allowing her to see deep into the heart of the essence which made up the Sayan psyche.

This experience had changed her, of that she had no doubt. Exactly how, she was not entirely sure, but she knew that it had opened a link to something which was buried deep in the past of the Sayan race, something that she had not been aware of, nor, she was sure, many others before her. It was this link that allowed her to walk out of the Room of Spirit and Time with a slight smile on her lips which she found mirrored in many of the others eyes and features. It was delightful to know that, in the end, the future was not as bleak as it had appeared to her for most of her life, but that the future was a blank ticket, waiting to be seized and used by herself and that made her almost impatient for the future to begin.

Chira was nervous when she left the Room of Spirit and Time. She was smiling as usual, and she was still looking forward to the events to come, but the last days in training had been strange for the young girl. At first she had hardly understood Vegetto's request for them to train by themselves. She had spent a good deal of time contemplating why he had sent them off alone. She hadn't found a reason, so she had turned her thoughts to other issues in her life. The upcoming fight for example. No, the upcoming war. Vegetto had constantly reminded them that it was not a single fight they were looking forward to, but instead a probably long and dangerous war. That alone made Chira shiver a bit. Time of her life she had loved fighting, had loved to train with her father when he had the time, with Bra-chan and Pan-chan when she had been able to convince them, with her mother most of the other times, or even alone. She had enjoyed the challenges that had presented themselves, but these had all been friendly challnges, not really fights, only sparring sessions. The worst enemy she had ever faced was Trunks-kun and he had held back on her. A slight smile came to her lips when she remembered giving him a broken ribcage because of that and the taunts he had had to endure from Goten afterwards.

A true challenge however, a real fight for her life, one where she could go to her limits, that was something she had never experienced and she most of her life she had spent, believing such a chance would never come.

And then suddenly, a Sayan girl had appeared, Vegetto had returned and just a few days later, they had all been training for just that. A fight for their lives. She had had so many questions to Vegetto, but the quiet Super Warrior had answered few. However, when she thought about it, the few answers he had given, resolved most of the other questions as well, almost as if Vegetto had known what was bothering Chira. At first, she had hoped that he was more of Goku than he was Vegeta, but slowly she had come to realize that he was neither one, nor the other. He was a different person, combining some of the qualities of both warriors in one, different personality. Once she had accepted that, it had been much easier training with him.

And then there was Jari. The Sayan girl which had dropped into all of their lives so suddenly, dragging terror and fear behind her. Chira had sympathy for the girl, trying to imagine what it must have been like to live on the run, to be constantly afraid, to never form ties to anyone. Thus she had done her best to cheer up the quiet girl, trying to gain her trust and maybe friendship as they had trained together.

And during those days, many realizations had come to her. Some had lifted her spirits, others had made her nervous. Some would prove to be good for the future, others...with others she was not yet sure what they actually meant for her.

Vegetto watched the other fighters as they talked with their families and loved ones. From what he could read on their features and in their eyes, his last directive had accomplished what it had been supposed to do. He knew from personal experience, that simple training was not enough to unlock the full potential of any warrior, Sayajin or otherwise and he knew, too, that in truth, the race was not nearly as important a factor in a warriors strength as many believed. For a long time, people had believed Sayans were, as a race, bred for battle and that might even be true, but it was more the mindset that mattered, not the physique. True, the Sayan body allowed for more drastic changes, for more immediate leaps in power, but even a human could be stronger than a Sayajin, if the mind worked the right way. To accomplish that, Vegetto had sent the trainees off to find their own mindset, to find their path.

Some had found it already, others had made progress towards that end, but none of them had wasted the time, so all in all, the training had been a success.

Still he was worried. The upcoming war would be so much different from anything they had witnessed so far and he was not sure they were ready for it. Physically, they had all matured and strengthened considerably, but mentally, some of them would see their first true battle soon. For some, that wouldn't be much of a problem, but he feared that others might be broken by the ferocity of the battles to come. He took refuge in the thought that he had done his best to prepare them and that he knew for a fact that all of them would support each other in the times of need that would surely arise in the near future.

Slowly, he gazed at all of them in turns. His own son, Gohan, who had become so much more of a scholar than a warrior. Vegeta had used to taunt Goku about that, how his own son was a bookworm and not a fighter, and he had been partly true. Gohan had unlocked his potential in the fight against the Demon and he had been exceptionally strong at that point. However, afterwards, when the Demon had been defeated, and peace had come to Earth, he had taken up his studies again and slowly, his innate power had been diminished until he had been only a shadow of his former self. The fact that he once again used the Super Sayajin transformations was proof enough of that. Yet, the possibility of his loved ones being in danger had brought out his fighting spirit again and he had once again become a very strong fighter, if not as strong as he had been once. He would need to find that power again, lest he would be vanquished in the war ahead.

Next, his gaze settled on Videl, Gohan's wife. How much the opposite she was of him. The fighting spirit of her was exceptional. Even before Vegetto had had to leave, Vegeta and Goku both had known that the girl had a potential unlike any other human before her and under the tutelage of Vegetto, she had come to realize it. She was the perfect example for his earlier thoughts. Not a Sayan, but her mindset had allowed her to rise to levels of power unthought of by other humans. Her will to fight, her will to challenge her abilities and strength over and over again, the drive to increase her power and her abilities, that was what had allowed her to progress to this level and if he wasn't mistaken, she had found her true potential during the last days of training as well. She would play an important role in the future to come, Vegetto knew that.

Again, his gaze wandered, now settling on Pan, Bra and Chira. Vegetto smirked slightly as he looked at the blue haired girl, Vegeta's offspring. Bulma always had had a knack for accomplishing what she wanted. He should have known that Vegeta not being there was no reason for Bulma not to give birth to another child of thiers. She had always told him that she wanted another child, a daughter at that. How she had managed it, Vegetto was not certain, but Bra had been born and she was certainly Vegeta's daughter to boot. Of the three, Pan was the only one who had not really inherited the joy of fighting from her parents. She took more after gohan, although she, too, had the potential of greatness. However, Chira and Bra both outshone her in combat training, mostly because they simply enjoyed it much more. They would need each other in the times to come, another thing Vegetto was sure of, but he didn't worry there. The thing he did worry about was that Chira seemed to be insecure of something after her days alone in the Room. Something in her gaze told Vegetto that she had found something which she hadn't expected and had not yet come to grips with. He hoped very much that she would be able to sort it out before long, or it might lead to an early demise of the young girl.

His eyes shifted once more, now settling on C18. Of all the fighters, she was the hardest to read. She had not changed visibly, of course, nor mentally, as it seemed. There still was that slight emptiness inside her eyes, the same emptiness which had been there ever since Krillin had died, but he felt, more than saw a change in her attitude towards life, one he could not quite place. He believed in her ability to rise to the challenges ahead, at least if she came to grips with the past, with her loss. He knew she would need support, mental support for that, but he also knew that he was not the one to give it. He hoped that she would let the support of their group reach her before it was too late.

Then there were Trunks and Goten, both capable fighter, albeit both not as fierce as warriors as they could have been, thus lacking the necessary drive to coax out all of their strength. They had trained well, but their stubborness when it came to the use of Fusion was a little disappointing. Agreed, he himself was a fused being, but as he had pointed out over and over, his fusion was permanent and he had learned to act as a single person, not so them. Whenever they fused, it was for a limited time and their fighting style in tha form was not quite as good as it could have been, thus reducing their effective strength. Pairing them with C18 had been a good choice, their boyish egoes not liking to be beaten by a woman, even if she were an android, so they had doubled their efforts. Still, Vegetto sensed that they were not putting all their heart into it and that could yet prove fatal, especially in what was to come.

Last, his gaze settled on Jari. The initiator of all of this so to speak. She had been integrated into the group well enough and slowly but surely, she had formed bonds of friendship with the others, something Vegetto had hoped very much she would, because he knew that it would, in the end, make her able to rise to even greater challenges. He sighed softly, shaking his head. When she had first come to this planet, things had seemed much simpler. But after their first visit to the Room of Spirit and Time, Kaio-sama had informed him that the unknown entity was heading this way faster than anyone had expected. Something had happened to change the set plan of the invaders and had caused them to move their schedule forward. What exactly that was, Vegetto wasn't sure, but he couldn't change it now. When he had stepped out of the Room for the secod time, he had felt the presence of the strongest entity immediately. He was about to land on Earth and Vegetto was quite certain that it wouldn't take long for the first battles to begin. He had hoped to have more time, but now he saw no choice but to split the fighters into two groups. One which would seek out the other Sayan's still living and one who would remain here and try to fend off the attack as best as they could.

Slowly, his thoughts drifted back to Jari, to the Sayan girl which had stirred a forgotten hope inside him. The hope of being able to restore the Sayan race, not to its previous place as conquerors of worlds, but as a race of warriors, proud and strong. It was a small hope, but it had been sparked by her arrival. That was not his sole reason for helping her, but it was a reason nonetheless and for him, an important one at that. He hadnot yet told her, or anyone else of that plan, but he would have to do so very soon. He had toyed with the thought of sending Jari away with those who were to look for other Sayans, but had dismissed that thought quickly. She was much too valuable here, much too happy at being accepted into a family and he didn't want to take that away from her, knowing it would be a source of strength for her.

No, the team to leave would be comprised of Pan, Trunks and possibly Gohan to supervise them. He knew that dangers were lurking out there, possibly of the same magnitude as they were here. It would hurt to lose Gohan in the upcoming fight here on Earth, but the mission of the others was too important to not be a success. It was painfully obvious to him that, no matter how strong they all had become, they could only stall the attackers for a while, not drive them back. That could only be accomplished if those going on the search had success.

Now it was time to tell the others of his plans, but he hesitated a moment longer. They were quiet and peaceful for the time being. He didn't want to disturb them, wanted to grant them this short moment of peaceful contemplation before the storm would break lose.

His gaze drifted to the distant clouds on the horizon, coal-black eyes trying to pierce the veil of the future, but even he could not tell what was to come of the events in the immediate future.

Slowly, he turned to the others again, approaching them quietly. One by one, they turned from whomever they had been talking with, their attention focussing on him, the whispered conversations dying down as everyone felt that his words would be important for them all.

"As you can all feel, the enemy is about to touch down on Earth." he began, allowing his gaze to sweep over all of them before he continued.

"It will not be long until all fo us must prove what they have learned, what they have mastered. For each of us, that will mean different tests of strength, cunning and prowess. As you may remember, I told you that we alone cannot push back the storm that will soon come over us. What we feel now, here, is but a fraction of what still awaits us. That is why we need to find others who are willing to help us. Despite the fact that our enemy has come earlier than expected, we will hold to that plan. Part of our group will leave in the FTL Spaceship Bulma has constructed."

There was some murmuring from all of them. He smiled lightly, knowing that not all of them would, Trunks and Pan in particular would not like the idea of leaving on the eve of battle, but they would accept that it was necessary.

"Gohan…" he began, fixing his piercing gaze on the younger half-sayan. "You will take Trunks and Pan with you on this journey. Trunks, you need to go, because in your blood is the royal blood that might be able to compel Sayans to join you where talking may not. Pan, you have to go because I know you have good diplomatic skills and like it or not, the responsibility of talking will mainly fall on your shoulders. Gohan will make sure you all get back alive." he added with a slight chuckle.

He held up his hands to stifle any protests before they began and shook his head.

"This is of utmost importance. Those who remain here will depend on you to bring back reinforcements as soon as you can."

Gohan nodded slowly and Vegetto knew he understood very well how important their mission was. Pan and Trunks nodded as well, though grudgingly.

"You will leave at once. The ship is ready at Capsule Corp's HQ. Bulma has prepared everything." he continued, then nodded slowly. He stepped back a bit, allowing them their time to say goodbye to their loved ones. Pan made a brave facade, though the glinting in her eyes hinted at the tears she probably had to held back with force. He closed his eyes a moment, not liking to have to break up families like this, but it was necessary.

A few minutes later, Gohan, Pan and Trunks took off from the platform, waving a last goodbye before heading off to the Western Capital. Vegetto returned to the group, looking over all of them again.

"As for us…we will have to hold out until they return. You all have trained hard, and I know that all of you have come to a certain understanding of yourself and your abilities. I trust you will not give up, no matter how dire the future may look."

The resolution on the features of everyone made Vegetto smile slightly. They would not give up, so much was for certain.

"Well then, let us welcome our visitors to Earth, shall we?" he said and turned, taking off towards the point where their enemies were landing. The others followed close behind him and together, they sped towards their destiny.

End Chapter 7


	8. Dawn of War

**Chapter 8 **  
Dawn of War 

„_We had never before faced a challenge  
__such as the one that presented itself with  
__the coming of Taris and his warriors.  
__Before that, our battles had been quick  
__by comparison, lasting, maybe days.  
__I was worried that many of the warriors  
__on our side would crack under the stress  
__such a prolonged fight would cause, but I  
__also had faith in the group's ability to  
__support each individual as needed."_

_-King Vegetto  
__Chronicles of a Warrior_

/ Earth /

Kavri was one of the first to set foot on Earth, walking down the ramp just behind the First Circle Warriors, His gaze flicked around cautiously, taking in the peaceful surroundings and the quietness of the scenery. He was also the first to notice the group of figures standing, not far from the landing site, obviously watching them. He recognized the Sayan girl among them immediately, but also several others which he could not place. He kept his mouth shut however, preferring to let the King and his henchmen notice them for himself and instead took some time to study the people who apparently were the girl's allies. What really unnerved him was the fact that they did not register to his senses. He could not feel them and neither could the sophisticated equipment on board the ship pick up any kind of chi signature. That was very strange, simply because /every/ living thing exhibited a signature. It seemed as though the people standing there, were dead, which was also the reason why the King only now noticed them.

Kavri could feel the tension mount higher as Taris laid eyes on the girl which he had been chasing for so long now and he could feel the other warriors preparing for what they probably believed to be an unavoidable battle. There was a short moment of confusion on all of their features as they realized that there were indeed people there, despite the lack of aura's. Somehow, Kavri thought to himself, they must have learned to mask their signatures. A highly useful skill, especially when you were on the run. If the Sayan girl fled again, they would have no possibility to trace her as easily as they had before. That of course also explained why her signal had suddenly been lost.

He continued to watch the group of people, seven all in all. It puzzled him why they would be here. Surely, this planet could not be home to seven exceptionally strong people at once, and none other would have given the girl reason to remain here. Still, it seemed the logical conclusion, so Kavri reminded himself to be careful and watchful. There were 5 women, actually, 3 girls and two women. The Sayan girl, two girls who appeared to be human and two human women. All of them watched the King and the Warriors quietly. Something in their eyes, visible even at this distance, told Kavri that they were warriors to heart. Something in their eyes appealed to him.

Then there were two men, one in his late twenties and one whose age Kavri could not guess. His features were puzzling and his eyes revealed nothing. Something about him nagged Kavri, something which made him think that this man was very important somehow.

„Well, it's a shame, really." Garida said with a derisive sneer. „This is not going to take long."

Taris nodded slowly, but Kavri could tell that he was not entirely sure about that. The group which had been uptil now standing motionless, was now coming towards them slowly, the older man in the lead, walking with confident movements.

„No one touches the Sayan girl." Taris said with a commanding voice and the First Circle Warriors nodded in unison. There was a bit of disappointment on their features and Kavri was tempted to mimick it. The group had collectively stopped masking their chi signature and their power levels were too low to even withstand one attack from Kavri. The Sayan warrior was frustrated. It couldn't be! Stupid Sayan girl, why did she have to stop here? Here where there were no warriors to at least help her. Kavri had put everything on the line and it all depended on the Sayan girl not being killed immediately, but now it seemed as just that was about to happen.

As his angry gaze swept over the tall man in the lead of the group again, he suddenly halted, his eyes finally singling out what had made him uneasy from the moment he had laid eyes upon him.

He was barely able to contain a yell of surprise, barely able to hide his shock.

His eyes had settled on the waist of the warrior and had realized that it was not a belt he was wearing.

It was a long, furry tail.

A Sayan tail.

„Awefully overconfident." Vegetto remarked as they slowly approached the group of intruders. His gaze was quick to analyze the threat potential of the group. It was still painfully obvious that they didn't stand a chance of defeating these warriors by themselves, but they would not be defeated that easily either.

Then there had been the first surprise. One of the warriors walking down the ramp from the ship was obviously a Sayajin. Vegetto had had to double check, because he couldn't believe that a Sayan could walk like that, so...slumped, so defeated, so chained! But there was the tail, hallmark of a true Sayajin. It made Vegetto curious to hear this man's story, but that would have to wait for a while still.

„Keep an eye on that man back there."

The others soon realized why he had said that and he could feel their tension rising.

He could also see, by the shock in the man's eyes, that he had noticed what the others in the enemy group still had not. That Vegetto himself was a Sayajin as well. He intended to keep his heritage hidden, which was why he had curled his tail around his hip, but the other Sayan had noticed it. However, the man kept quiet, apparently strangely reluctant to help the others. That was a good sign, Vegetto decided.

The leader of the invaders, the one with the terribly powerful aura was ignoring Vegetto, his narrowed eyes fixed on Jari. The young Sayan girl was meeting his gaze evenly and secretly, Vegetto was very proud. She had shed her fear of this being, having found the strength to confront him.

They stopped, Vegetto now only about 10 meters away from the leader of the other group. A moment of silence passed as warriors watched warriors. Vegetto could tell that most of these warriors were already sure of a quick victory, something he had planned and hoped for. Only the Sayan and the leader himself seemed to be on their guard.

Vegetto let the moment of silent appraisal pass and then bowed formally.

„Greetings, strangers, to our homeworld. Would the unexpected guests reveal their identity?" he said in a formal tone.

The leader of the group smirked lightly, not returning the bow, staring at Vegetto, now for the first time.

„I am king Taris, ruler of the Tarisian Empire. We are in pursuit of a wanted criminal and we demand you return her into our custody, or suffer the consequences of collaboration."

Taris was very sure of himself, that much was certain to Vegetto. Despite his slight weariness, he didn't see Vegetto and the others as a real threat. His weariness came from something different, though Vegetto could not quite say what that was.

„Aha, might I enquire as to what charges stand against her?" he asked, politely and with a slight smile on his lips.

The King narrowed his eyes slightly, obviously not having expected that reply. He inclined his head momentarily, staring at Vegetto as though undecided about something. Then he shrugged and smiled predatorily.

„The crimes of the Sayan race are well documented. She has failed to submit herself to the Empire. Sayans cannot go unchecked, lest their hideous, brutal reign rise again."

Vegetto smirked at that, raising a brow as he listened to the explanation. Of course, the Sayajin had been a race of conquerors, wiping entire civilizations from the face of their worlds, but ever since the destruction of their homeworld, things had been different.

„But, your highness, this girl is hardly of age to have commited such acts herself. She cannot be held responsible for what her forefathers did." he replied, almost casually.

Again, the King seemed surprised that such a reply would be directed at him. There was fury in his eyes now and the other warriors were whispering among themselves. Obviously, Taris was not used to someone talking back to him.

„Your views on this matter are of no interest to me, human!" he spat. „Surrender the girl, or be destroyed!"

„Oh but my views will be of interest to you!" Vegetto smiled a little more and inclined his head.

Taris blinked, now truly shocked. This was a completely new experience for him, Vegetto could see it in his eyes. Good. The King's attention was disrupted. He was too stunned and too angry to be really alert and the other warriors, all except the Sayan were staring at Vegetto with open shock on their features as well. Now was the time to act.

Taris was about to say something, but he never managed to get a single word out of his mouth. Suddenly, Vegetto changed from the casual way he had been standing until a moment ago, to a battle ready stance. In miliseconds, his powerlevel rose from a mere nothingness to his full potential. A torrent of energy assaulted the senses of those unprepared as the Super Warrior charged up from nothing to Super Sayajin 3, his black hair turning a bright gold, lengthening, his eyes changing from coal black to a piercing emerald color. All of the invaders were too shocked to react, too stunned at the display of power. Vegetto seemed to vanish for a second, then his elbow connected with Taris's chin, sending the massive man flying backwards. At the same time, the others leapt into action. Chira, Goten, Bra and Jari all charged to their newly gained powerlevels, adding to the confusion in the ranks of the enemy. Videl activated her own Limit Break while C18, her features impassive but her gazen menacing, powered herself up as well. As one, the group leapt forward, charging into the ranks of the stunned warriors. Unable to react quickly enough, they all received heavy blows, sending them careening off into the distance. Vegetto meanwhile pursued his own target, not giving Taris a milisecond to recover. Without any sound, he appeared in the flightpath of the body, whirled and slammed his foot into the back of the surprised King which sent him flailing into another direction. In the blink of an eye, Vegetto charged after him and Taris was assaulted with a long series of punches and kicks that pummeled his body all over. The mere thought of defense had yet to form in his mind.

His loyal followers fared no better. All of them were pounded by the furious attacks of the defenders of Earth, assaulted mercilessy, giving them no chance to react in these first few seconds.

In unison, the 7 warriors delivered a final blow to their targets, sending all of the 12 First Circle warriors and the King himself crashing back towards their spaceship. The Sayan alone had not reacted, not even trying to help his supposed comerades. Vegetto hovered above the ship, his hands outstretched, open palms pointing towards the figures on the ground which only now got up, still confused, hurt, yes, but not dangerously so.

He looked at the Sayan for a moment, nodding away from the spaceship as bright blue energy began crackling over his fingertips, forming a sphere in front of his palms.

„Do not underestimate us, fools!" he growled as the sphere grew larger and then suddenly a wave of energy surged from his palm towards the spaceship. The Sayan had long disappeared from his position, but the others barely had time to raise their arms in defense before the tidal wave of energy swept over them, exploding on the ground, tearing the spaceship apart piece by piece. The shockwave of the explosion alone flattened the immediate area.

Vegetto nodded to the others and as one, they extinguished their aura's again and headed away from the site of the first battle. Vegetto remained behind for a moment, his eyes searching and finding the Sayan warrior. His actions spoke for him and Vegetto nodded, hoping that this would be the first ally among many whom they would gain and need in the future. He nodded slightly and indicated a bow, gesturing for him to follow before he turned around and charged after the others.

"How can this be??" Garida asked, dusting off her slightly torn clothes and cursing angrily as a small amount of blood had stained her robe.

"The Sayajin were supposed to be destroyed, all but those who are in service to you!"

Taris was in a sour mood, so he ignored Garida's comment, staring at the place where the man who had revealed himself to be a Sayan had floated a few minutes ago. He was seething with fury. Having been humiliated like this, at the hands of a mere Sayan! The thought of it was almost unbearable. He, who had never been defeated in battle before, had been wounded by a weakling!

He cursed violently, silencing the bickering of his First Circle Warriors.

"We were unprepared." he forced himself to say. "We were caught off guard. This will not happen again. They made a grievous mistake in not continuing their attack while they had the upper hand. Now we know of their power and will act accordingly!"

The assembled warriors nodded quietly. They all felt much like he did. Insulted, their honor damaged.

In fact, they were all so troubled with themselves, that none of them noticed the absence of Kavri.

The Sayan warrior was crouching, away from the others, undetected, unnoticed. He had not forgotten the gesture of the other Sayan and he was tempted to follow it. However, he had to make sure of what would happen when Ssiti arrived here. Currently, the King and his lackeys were too busy licking their wounds and fuming over their loss of honor than to actually think of such things. They had probably, at least for now, forgotten about the Sayan Pod racing towards Earth. Soon enough, they would think of it again, Kavri knew that, mostly, because their Spaceship was destroyed and they needed another method to leave this planet again. To call for another spaceship, they needed communication devices and those would be on a Pod. Usually, Taris would transmit a telepathic message to one of his loyal First Circle Warriors, but as they were now all in one place, that would not help.

He remained in place for a moment longer, listening as the King gave orders to pursue the attackers, although they had no lead as to where to go. Kavri did have their location. Stunning as it was, he could see the place where they were clearly in his mind and he knew how to get there just fine. He guessed that was the Sayans doing as well.

The surprise! Kavri smiled to himself as the King and his followers took off and he himself stood up, looking at the crater which the explosion had created. He had hoped that the Sayan girl would have found someone to fight with here here, that she had discovered something to help her in her struggle and she had not disappointed him. These warriors, though they might still not win the war, were a start to a resistance. They could endure, if they worked together.

Well, anything was better than living in chains all his life. This was the one chance he was going to get, the one chance to try and set thngs right, to avenge all of the Sayans who had suffered under Taris's rule.

With a slight smile, he took to the air and turned on his axis slowly, then sped off towards the point where he knew his destiny awaited him.

"Do we have to hide like this?" Chira grumbled lightly as she sat down near the entrance to the main building on Kami's Lookout. The group of warriors had assembled there after their initial surprise attack on the intruders. Chira in particular had not liked the idea to go into hiding, not when the first battle had gone so well for them. But Vegetto had insisted that it had been the advantage of surprise that had granted them this little victory. He cautioned them, to remain alert at all times.

"For the time being, yes Chira." Vegetto said quietly, coming out of the palace as quietly as a ghost.

Chira grumbled something and stuck her tongue out at him to which he replied with a light chuckle. He knew of course that they had not given everything in the last small fray with their enemies, but he also knew that even everything would not be enough when their enemies were prepared for a fight. Had they lingered much longer, the King and his followers would have begun a counter attack and that could have ended badly.

"Aha, he's coming…" Videl called over from a bit at the edge of the platform and Chira jumped up, following Vegetto and the others as they headed towards where Videl stood.

"You think it's a good idea to show him this place?" Videl asked Vegetto as he stood beside her.

The Sayan shrugged and smiled indifferently.

"From what we've seen, he's not their friend and currently I'm willing to follow the 'my enemy's enemy is my friend' philosophy."

Videl smirked and nodded in agreement as she fixed her gaze on the small speck on the horizon which quickly grew into the shape of the Sayajin they had encountered earlier. He slowed down gradually as he approached them and then, slowly settled down, gazing at all of them in turn before his eyes remained on Vegetto. For a moment, the two just stood there, gazing at each other, then Kavri bowed lightly and Vegetto did the same.

"My thanks for inviting me here. My name is Kavri." the stranger introduced himself.

Vegetto nodded slightly and inclined his head.

"You are welcome here, unless you wish to harm those on this planet or my friends and family. Seeing as that is not the case, again, welcome. My name is Vegetto and these are my fellow Warders." Though they all had not yet heard that name, they did not show it, instead nodded or waved when Vegetto introduced them to Kavri and he returned their greeting. Videl could not help but notice the strength in his eyes. When they had first seen him, walking from that sheep, he had seemed subdued, but now, in his eyes, she saw that this man was in no way subdued. Tied, maybe, bound by the forces of destiny, but not subdued.

"My pleasure, meeting all of you." Kavri said after the introduction was over.

"I am sorry for the company I bring, but, as you probably know, these people would not stray from their path. He is intent on finding you…" he said, his gaze fixing on Jari for a moment. "And killing you, and by now I know why."

Jari blinked and inclined her head, surprised at this.

"You know?" she asked.

Kavri nodded, his eyes growing suddenly very angry indeed.

"I've discovered something, something which will no doubt interest you as much as it did me and which will most likely make your blood boil with rage as well." he said, quietly, looking down.

"I suppose we all have much to explain and talk about." Vegetto said, cutting off questions from Jari with a light gesture.

"First of all, is there any way these people can track you here besides your power signature?"

Kavri nodded and pointed to his throat. Vegetto narrowed his eyes slightly and came a little closer, examining the collar.

"Hmmm, I suppose blasting it off wouldn't do any good." It was not a question but Kavri nodded anyway.

"This is something for Bulma. Bra, would you go and get your mother, please?"

Bra nodded and dashed off towards the building at the center of the lookout.

"Will you tell us then, from where exactly you hail?" Vegetto asked as he walked, together with the others and Kavri towards the building as well.

"There is not much to tell. The Tarisian Empire spans most of the Northern Galaxy. It was founded as The Republic, but no one remembers that anymore. Taris seized control after killing the old ruler and ever since he has been expanding his borders, looking fornew worlds to conquer. In all those years, he has been leader of the armies, an exceptionally strong fighter himself, but you know that of course."

Kavri sighed and shook his head.

"He has a hatred for Sayajins, mostly because he knows that we have the potential of actually opposing him, or that'smy theory. After he heard of the destruction of our homeworld, he went on a crusade to extinguish or subdue all of the remaining Sayans and he was mostly successful. There are but a few left of us and most of them are numb, unable to feel anything else but pain anymore. These collars, they are used to control us. If we use our power without authorization, any Guardian of Justice can activate them, filling our bodies with pain beyond comprehension."

The Sayan warrior shivered slightly at that. Videl watched him, unsettled by this story, but kept on listening as they all did.

"We are not allowed to reproduce, but those who agree to serve the King can at least live. Mind you, it is a life almost like slavery, but…" he trailed off for a moment.

"Before I was bound to this collar, I could not have dreamt of spending my life like this, but the moment I met Taris, I knew that defiance would not get me anywhere. I had to bide my time to find the right moment to start a rebellion."

He shrugged and waved away the thought, then continued with his story.

"A few years back, Taris believed he had killed thelast remaining Sayajins, but this girl." He nodded to Jari. "He sent me on her trail and thus I followed her. Through…a mixture of Jari's cunning and my own lack of…shall we say enthusiasm, he couldnever lay hands on her. His desperation to find her was a puzzle to me, because I could not find a clue as to why he would be so adamant about finding a single Sayan girl. The answers came to me when I was on my way here."

He swallowed as the group sat down around a table. Bulma had joined them by now, but Vegetto had motioned for her to remain silent and indicated the collar. Bulma had nodded in understanding and had set to work on the collar without noise.

"Taris is not a stupid man. He knows he will not live forever, but he wishes to ensure that his offspring continue to rule the Empire. Thus, he always saught to have strong mates, but none would be to his liking. In secret, he knew that the one race that would ensure that his blood grew stronger, were the Sayajin. Unbeknownst to anyone in the Empire, he kept alive several Sayan girls he had found and ordered his scientists to search for ways to cross-breed as well as enhance the Sayan physique. Cells from the remaining Sayan males were used to impregnate girls so they would continue to have a healthy breeding stock. They…experienced on them, used genetics, bioengineering…things to gruesome to name here. I've seen it, all of it. A report on their progresswas sent to Taris's ship and I had the luck of finding that report."

He cast down his gaze and clenched his fists violently.

"I saw them all…every Sayan girl. There are 87 of them…I know their names…" he whispered quietly and then looked up, the smouldering hatred in his eyes having grown to a furnace.

"I swore an oath, to avenge these girls, free them if possible and make Taris pay for every ounce of pain they suffered at his hands or orders."

Vegetto and the others stared at him quietly after these revelations. Even Bulma had stopped working, her eyes widened with shock. It seemed impossible that such acts could be commited and then simply ignored. Something which obviously had occured throughout the years of this Taris and nobody had complained, nobody had even noticed anything. Of course, nobody had asked after a Sayan girl. What for? Everyone had been glad they were all dead, right? To think how Taris had fooled everyone into believing that blatant lie and then using the girls to strengthen his own sick blood. Kavri remained quiet as Bulma slowly resumed her work on the collar and the silence which now encompassed the warriors was much heavier than it had been before. Their fight had just been taken to a new level. Not only were they defending their homeworld. Vegetto could see it in their eyes and he was grateful for it. For him, it was quite natural to join with Kavri on this quest to avenge the girls and of course, Jari had more than enough reason to do so as well. The others however were no full blooded Sayajin and thus didn't have nearly as much reason to do something like that. Still, they all had that same look in their eyes. For whatever reason, they had all decided the same thing.

„Indeed, he will pay." Vegetto said quietly and nodded to Kavri, then his glance went to Bulma.

„Can you disable it?" he asked.

Bulma shrugged slightly and then gave him one of those cocky grins she could do so well.

„This is basic technology, nothing fancy. I deactivated the pain emitters. There's a selfdestruct charge implanted in it which I need some time to disable, but it would pose no problem. For now, this collar is just that, a collar. It can't hurt him anymore."

Kavri widened his eyes slightly and looked at her, as though unsure wether this was true or not. Vegetto, noticing the look, chuckled slightly and patted Bulma's shoulder.

„Well done as always. Now, as it appears, we have an addition to our group and i think the best thing to do right now, is show him how to surpress his aura." Vegetto mused, then looked to Kavri.

„Your powerlevel is rather high, but you don't have that ability yet, right?"

Kavri nodded slightly.

„Well, it's not that difficult..." and thus he began to show Kavri the way of disguising ones aura.

Jari watched the Sayan quietly for a while, then sighed, shaking her head, turning and walking towards the edge of the platform again. She sat down there, letting her legs dangle while gazing out to the horizon. So now the battle was here. The war, as Vegetto continued to call it. She had been pleasantly surprised to see how well everyone had worked together in that surprise attack, but she, like Vegetto, knew of course, that they stood no chance. Even without the First Circle Warriors, they would still be hard pressed to stop Taris if he used his full potential. They had had the surprise on their side and what Jari just didn't get was why Vegetto had refrained from continuing the onslaught so that their enemies would have been at least a little weaker. The Super Warrior was quite difficult to predict, another thing which made him such a formidable ally for her, but sometimes, she wished he would share more than just the momentary phase of his plans. Didn't he trust them? Did he think they could side with the enemy? No, that was so much unlike him and Jari knew for a fact that none of the others would ever consider betraying him or this world. Jari had her own reasons why she wouldn't betray him, after all, Taris had made it quite certain that he wanted her dead. She was not so certain about Kavri, but he, too had every reason to hate the King, maybe even more than Jari herself. After all, he had had to live under the rule of that tyrant, had had to endure years of pain and misery. She could only imagine how Sayajin were treated in an Empire where they were considered the worst nightmare come true.

„Brooding again?"

Jari jumped slightly, having been lost in thought and thus not having realized that Chira had joined her at the edge of the platform.

„Gah, I told you, don't surprise me like that!" Jari mumbled and smiled faintly as Chira sat down beside her.

„Un, but you know how I dislike obeying orders." Chira said, sticking out her tongue and chuckled.

Jari shook her head and smiled faintly, staring back at the horizon again.

„I was just thinking about the future. As usual. It felt good to fight, I just wonder why we stopped."

Chira shrugged and scowled a little, which, Jari found herself thinking, made her look quite cute.

„It's not as if we have a choice, do we? Vegetto knows what he's doing, that's what we must believe and trust in." she said and sighed. Jari knew of course that Chira herself was not very happy with their current unability to strike at their enemies.

„I know, I know, but it's still frustrating!" Jari grumbled and clenched her fists. Her tail whipped back and forth all on ist own, something it had not done for years. For ages, she had let the tail remain curled around her hips, hoping that people who saw her would not notice what she was. It was a sign of her loosening up that she began to use it again.

Chira chuckled and patted Jari lightly on the shoulder, then poked her forehead.

„Baka! You'll get loads of fighting soon, ne!" she said with a grin.

Jari grumbled and returned the poke.

„Don't you go calling me Baka like that. You're no better, Chira-chan!"

The younger girl laughed and nodded, leaning back and staring up into the sky.

„It's strange. My father used to tell me that Sayajin were bad people. You know, conquering worlds, wiping out entire civilizations so they could sell the planet to the highest bidder, living just to fight, but now we have a little girl Sayajin who is hardly a monster and a Sayajin who had to live his live as a slave and a host of Sayan girls being used as guinea pigs."

She narrowed her eyes slightly as she said that, anger flaring up in those lavender depths.

„Things change, people change. The destruction of your homeworld can do that to you." Jari said quietly.

Chira nodded and then sighed, smiling to Jari with a sad little smile.

„You know, it's terrible, that your homeworld was destroyed and all, but there's a good thing to even that. After all, we would have never met, if Frieza hadn't destroyed your homeworld and if Taris hadn't chased you. It's not a good thing, but a little bright spot in this darkness, ne...Jari-chan..."

Jari was stunned at those words, only able to watch Chira smile and wink, jump up and turn around to head back to the main building. The casual tone of their conversations so far had been one thing. She liked the girl and enjoyed the time they spent together, but so far, Chira had always remained at the usual respectful distance from younger girl to older girl. For her to call her Jari-chan, that was...strange, especially in the context. A bright spot in the darkness? The darkness which was the destruction of her homeworld, her life as an exile. A bright spot, this?

Stranger still was the fact, that Jari couldn't help, but agree.

End Chapter 8

Author's Notes: Well, this Chapter took a bit longer, but I think it turned out quite nice. Thank you, everyone for reading and reviewing so far. I'd be happy if you continued giving your honest opinion of the story and the writing.


	9. Rage

**Chapter 9**  
Rage 

„_You will all die."  
__- High Warrioress Arisa to King Taris after arriving on Earth._

/ Earth /

Ssiti frowned deeply as she watched the images on the screens inside the capsule. They were rapidly approaching Earth, the so deceivingly friendly looking planet already looming in their viewport. Ssiti knew she could not change anything in here, but somehow, she wished she could. The scanners indicated that their landing site was already under surveillance by the King and his First Circle Warriors. She did not know what had transpired since their arrival on this world, but since the scanners could not pick up Taris's ship, she assumed that it had been destroyed in the fighting.

„You look worried." Arisa said quietly, sitting next to Ssiti and actually looking much more worried than Ssiti allowed herself to appear.

„Well, we are expected." she said, leaning back and sighing softly. „Taris and his henchmen apparently have had an unexpected encounter on this world and lost their ship. I assume they want to use this ship's communication devices."

Arisa narrowed her eyes slightly and before Ssiti could react, the girl had torn the communication console from its place and crunched it to little pieces with her hands. Ssiti stared at her with mild wonder. The girl had grown restless these last few days, the nearer they had come to their destination. It seemed as though the imminent arrival and the subsequent meeting with Taris was stirring her pent up emotions. While she had been almost docile during most of the trip, now she was constantly frowning, muttering, though she still sought comfort in Ssiti's embrace from time to time. Of course, Ssiti could understand that, seeing how she had been treated on the orders of that man and also seeing that the girl had been pregnant with the child of this monster. She was still a Sayajin and she was sure to want revenge, but Ssiti also knew that Arisa had no chance. She was weak, even though much stronger than Ssiti herself, she was still a being kept in a laboratory most of her life. Of course, the experiments on her had created formidable strength and dexterity, but she would not be able to use it, to channel it, nor would she know how to fight. Strength was one thing, being a good warrior was another, Ssiti knew that from Kavri.

„That will certainly hinder them a little longer." Ssiti said and smiled lightly.

„Is your husband going to help us when we arrive?" Arisa asked, leaning back again quietly.

Ssiti shrugged and looked out the small porthole.

„I don't know if he can. Taris is very powerful and his First Circle Warriors are no laughing matter either. I don't know if he has been able to find someone strong enough to beat them so quickly, though I doubt it. If that were so, I don't think Taris would still be here."

Arisa nodded and her tail uncurled from her waist, stroking Ssiti's wrist lightly.

„I'm sure he's OK." she said softly and Ssiti smiled faintly at the affectionate gesture. Over the course of their journey, Arisa had become very attached to Ssiti, at least that was Ssiti's impression and she could not deny her motherly feelings for the girl either. She had soothed Ssiti's own doubts about Kavri, wether he was still alive or not, if he was well and Ssiti mentally thanked her for that support. A bond had been formed during the hours and days of traveling and Ssiti wondered how Kavri would react to such a bond.

A light smile formed on her lips, imagining his eyes boring into hers when he asked her how she could have been so stupid to take the risk and help a Sayan girl off Taris Prime a second before he would embrace her and hold her tightly, muttering words of appreciation and love into her ear.

„It must be wonderful to be loved so." Arisa said quietly and Ssiti realized that she had been smiling dreamily, like a little schoolgirl. She composed herself, but the smile remained on her features.

„Yes, and no doubt, you will find that out for yourself soon enough." she replied with a light twinkle in her gaze.

Arisa raised a brow at that, then shrugged and smiled faintly, returning her gaze to the nearing planet. Ssiti, too watched their descent to the planet's surface. When the instruments winked out due to the extreme heat of re-entry, she closed her eyes, knowing that it was now in the hands of Kavri to save them from certain death at the hands of the King.

Taris stood on the plains where he knew the Sayan capsule would crash any moment now. He was impatient, in a foul mood. The search had not revealed the location of these warriors who had attacked him out of the blue, who had /dared/ to hurt him! That Vegetto, that Sayan bastard. His strength had been amazing and Taris had to admit that he had made the mistake of underestimating this warrior. It simply had not occured to him that there could be someone with such a powerlevel on this world. He knew that, had he been prepared, Vegetto would not have been able to really hurt him.

Well, it had been a mistake not to continue the assault when Taris had been pushed into the defensive. Now he knew what to expect next time they met and he would make sure to smash obedience into the Sayan warrior.

Again, Taris frowned deeply. His followers were keeping a respectful distance, because they knew that it was rather dangerous to be close to Taris when he was in one of these moods.

He gazed up and caught sight of the descending capsule as it hurtled through the atmosphere, leaving a trail of smoke and fire in its wake. A slow, cruel smirk spread on his features. Whoever was in that capsule would be no problem. He could sense two weak chi signatures in it, nothing to bother with. However, he reminded himself to be a little more careful, seeing how those local warriors had fooled his senses into believing them to be weak.

„You keep a watch on the immediate area. I would not be surprised if these locals tried to spring another trap! Kavri! To my side!" he bellowed and watched the capsule continue its descent.

Only when the capsule was almost down did he realize that Kavri had not answered his summons. He scowled, making a mental note to activate the pain collar once this capsule was secured, but for now he simply took a few steps back and hovered in the air just a bit above ground.

The next moment, the capsule crashed into the ground not far from his position, creating a huge crater in the process. The shockwave tugged at his clothing and sent rocks and small stones hurtling through the air, but the dust soon settled to allow a clear view of the small spaceship in the center of the crater.

In a slow descent, Taris approached the front of the capsule which had not yet opened. He sneered slightly, guessing that ist inhabitants had seen on the scanners who their welcoming comitee was and had decided to keep the hatch down. It would do them no good.

He settled down on the ground in front of the capsule. To his surprise, a slight hiss, followed by a thin line of steam originated from the entry hatch now and gradually, the scarred hatch opened. When it had opened completely, a small figure stepped out of it, a figure he did not immediately recognize as it was hidden in the shadows of the hatch itself, but when she stepped out into the open, he realized that it was the wife of Kavri. Ssiti, if he remembered the name correctly. She took another step towards him and then fell on her knees as any commoner would in front of their King.

„Forgive my intrusion your majesty, but I have news of utmost importance for you!" she said quietly, her eyes gazing firmly on the ground.

Taris, surprised by the earnestness in her voice stared at the greenskinned woman for a moment, then inclined his head, peering back into the capsule, but the interior was shrouded in darkness.

„You have stolen a Sayan capsule from Taris Prime. That alone would be reason to kill you, but since Kavri has thus far served me without error, I shall give you a chance to explain yourself." he said, deciding that maybe, the woman had something really important.

„My husband, loyal to you as he has been thus far, has now decided to turn against you. It is my belief that he has a plan to lure you into a trap on this planet and wishes to kill you with the aid of the young Sayan girl you so much desire to be dead. I have found notes in his computer at home indicating he had other followers." Ssiti spoke quietly.

Taris narrowed his eyes, then burst out laughing.

„Kavri? Assassinate me? That is some story you want me to buy woman! This is ridiculous!" he roared and shook his head.

„I urge you to trust me my lord." Ssiti continued, flinching slightly under his gaze. „He has a mind to kill you and I believe..." she didn't finish the sentence.

Taris's head whipped around as from somewhere high above them a thundering voice had begun to intone a few startling words. He recognized the voice even before he laid eyes on the Sayan warrior who had blooded him in their first encounter. That strange voice, seeming to be two voices in one, echoing with power and strength. Like before the voice made clear that no ground would be given freely, that the conviction and dedication of this man to his task was complete. High above him, Taris saw Vegetto floating in the air, his hands at his waist, a sphere of crimson energy burning between palms.

„Ka...Me....."

Taris, laughed. Vegetto was not as bright as he might appear to be. Even such an arrogant Sayajin should have realized that he had no chance of fighting him out in the open like this, that it was stupid to even consider attacking him up front.

„It was foolish to come here Sayan! Warriors, seize him!" he shouted, but then realized that his warriors were not to be seen.

„Your faithful servants are currently busy trying to chase after our friends." Another voice spoke behind him, another voice he recognized.

„Kavri! So your wife told the truth, did she?" Taris snarled, narrowing his eyes as he whirled around to see Kavri standing calmly by his wife's side, a hand on her shoulder.

High above them, the glow in Vegetto's hands grew in intensity, illuminating his features, drawn into an impassionate mask.

„Ha....Me...."

„You are all stupid! You will die for this insolence!" Taris cursed and conjured a bright sphere of energy in his hand, hurling it at Vegetto. That would teach the damned Sayan to try and attack him like this.

Several things happened at once then. Kavri took Ssiti by the arm, but Ssiti refrained. Arisa walked out of the capsule. Taris turned, realizing what and who Arisa was, staring, wide eyed at the young Sayan. Meanwhile, the sphere the King had unleashed hurtled through the air towards Vegetto who however didn't seem to be bothered by that at all. Taris turned back to the more immediate threat, wanting to see with his own eyes, that the damned Sayan would be vaporized.

In the blink of an eye, Vegetto vanished from the path of the incloming energy sphere, appearing right in front of Taris, who was even more shocked when he realized that Vegetto was still holding the powerful sphere in his hands. He had no time to really react, only could turn back to the people now in front of the capsule.

Then suddenly, Arisa spoke with such dark vehemence in her words that Ssiti could not recognize it as the voice of the girl immediately.

„You will all die!"

The words were directed at Taris and her gaze confirmed that she would do anything necessary to make her words come true. Ssiti grasped Arisa by the hand and Kavri lifted both of them up from the ground, dashing away surrounded by a corona of energy. At that moment, Taris's warriors appeared at the edge of the crater. Taris blinked, trying to act, but of course, it was much too late.

„HA!" Vegetto shouted, throwing his hands forward, towards Taris's chest. The King couldn't do anything to defend himself and the wave of energy which leapt from Vegetto's hands swept over him with all its destructive force. It tore him along in its path, slamming him into the edge of the crater, driving him further backward as it blasted a canyon through the massive stone walls, further and further until Taris was finally able to react and vanish from the path of the energy wave.

Before anyone could do anything, Vegetto lowered his hands and vanished, leaving no trace of the Super Warrior who had, yet again, blooded and injured the King. Startled, the warriors didn't quite comprehend what had just happened. They turned, unsure of what to do, glancing at each other. Then Taris reappeared in their midst, his royal clothing torn in dozens of places, bleeding from one medium and several smaller sized wounds. There was no indication of pain or weakness in his gaze or words however. His eyes were pure fury.

It was this moment that Vegetto had secretly dreaded. Humiliating the King like that had several advantages. For once, people lost to anger often commited mistakes which they could have avoided. Second, enraging Taris could sow dissent among the other Warriors, maybe even going as far as that taris would simply kill one in his temper.

However, there were drawbacks as well. This was crucial moment. Vegetto knew that the King had enough power to simply destroy this world and everything living on it if he set his mind to it and currently, he was dangerously close to that. Vegetto had calculated however, that the King was not stupid, that he would not want his target to be killed like that. He had suspected that Taris wanted something else with the girl, particularily since Kavri had revealed to them the facts about the Tarisian/Sayan Breeding Program.

It was a risky gamble, but one Vegetto had had to take in order to continue along the chosen path. If they were to succeed, they would have to lure their enemies into making mistakes.

He watched from afar, his aura concealed as Taris stood between his warriors, seething with fury and rage. If the King indeed exploded, if his temper got the better of him, Vegetto would have to act quickly to prevent the Earth from being annihilated.

His keen senses picked up the approach of one of his fellow warriors. No chi signature, but a soft disturbance of the air currents, a slight sound of clothes being rustled as the wind blew past them. A faint, barely noticeable fragrance of feminity mixed with something artificial. C18, no doubt.

„You hide your worry well."

Vegetto chuckled softly, silently, not turning his gaze from Taris.

„Not from you it would appear." he replied as the blonde-haired cyborg stepped beside him, her crystal blue eyes also fixed on their enemies.

It came as no surprise that C18 would be the first to actually be able to discern something from his behaviour. She was by far the most experienced fighter in the group, excluding Gohan, but Gohan had already left to find and rally other Sayans and warriors for their cause. Vegetto cast a short, sideways glance at the never-changing features of the cyborg, no woman. He mentally corrected himself, remembering that she now was a mother and had been a loving wife for most of her life. Even if she still could not express emotions as readily as humans sometimes could, that did not change the fact that she had evolved from being just a creation of Dr. Gero.

„It is difficult to judge you." she said after a moment of silence. „I know that you have not shown all of your power in the two encounters. I know that even the power you displayed in the Room of Spirit and Time was not everything you have and yet you refuse to use it."

Vegetto smiled quietly, his gaze returning to Taris. One of his immediate worries was soothed as the King whirled around and began talking to his subordinates, his fury apparently under control again.

„I have my reasons, and those reasons are important. You are right, I have not gone to my limits in the fights so far. But neither has Taris. Actually, taris has not yet fought at all as you well know. I know for a fact that even my full potential would not be able to overcome him. That is why we need time."

C18 now cast her gaze to him for a moment, joining him as he slowly lifted off the ground and began to withdraw from the location of their enemies. There was nothing here to be seen for the time being.

„Are you sure we will find help out there?" she asked as they both gradually accelerated, but did not increase their spped too much in order to keep talking.

„I am not sure of much these days C18. I am afraid to be sure, so to speak. I wish there were more facts, more evidence, but more than anything, my actions and plans are based on what I /think/."

C18 nodded slowly and remained quiet for a while.

„The fight will not remain here, am I correct?" she asked then.

Vegetto chuckled once more, rolling over in flight so he lay on his back, gazing at the blonde warrioress.

„You are quite correct. Consider this the beginning stage of this war. Troops are rallying, units are being placed. We are gathering our strength, but the battles will not be fought here. One advantage that we do have is that we can decide the field of battle for the time being. Taris will follow us wherever we go now and wherever we will fight, it will cause a great amount of destruction. I doubt Earth would take that very long."

C18 blinked for a moment, apparently thinking about something, then she widened her eyes slightly. Vegetto smiled and nodded, winking almost playfully.

„Yes, that's another reason for my behaviour. Keep this to yourself however, OK?"

She nodded, staring at Vegetto while he turned and looked ahead again. He could feel her gaze on his back even as they slowly ascended towards Kami's Lookout.

„Do we have a chance?" C18 suddenly asked, shortly before they actually arrived at the Lookout. Vegetto turned, genuinely surprised. Why would she ask something like that? He gazed into her eyes and smiled playfully.

„Of couse we have. There's always a chance, no matter how things might look." he replied and then turned, crossing the last distance to the Lookout.

/ In Space, 5 days after launch /

Gohan sighed to himself as he leaned back in the pilot's chair and gazed out at the stars passing by the main viewer. Five days they had been traveling so far and a kind of routine was settling in. He still enjoyed watching the stars fly by, and he did so, every time his thoughts drifted back to Earth. At those times, he was almost sick with worry, worry for his wife, for his second daughter. The fear he felt quickly vanished when his thoughts returned to who was there helping and guiding them.

Vegetto.

Of course, Gohan had spent a lot of his free time, trying to decide what he now actually felt towards this being. He was after all, partly his father, or was he more than his father? Gohan shook his head, once again stumbling over the complexity of the situation. Indeed, he had come to fully realize that Vegetto's choice to withdraw from them after his fusion had been the best thing to do, even though it had pained Gohan and the others to see him leave. Two beings trapped in one body, two minds in one person. Of course he had needed time to adjust to the new situation and to adapt, to change, to evolve. Gohan no longer felt angry towards his father for leaving them, though the hint of sadness remained, knowing that he would never have his real father back. However, once he had accepted that Vegetto was not his father, but another person, it had become much easier dealing with him. Of course, a part of his father was still there and at times it had shown in an almost unnerving way, but Gohan had accepted that those were similarities and that the man he had known and loved as his father was no more.

A part of him was grateful that Vegetto's reappearance had come together with this new threat for Earth. That way, he had had things on his mind, keeping him busy and he hadn't had enough time to fall into depressions over the loss of his father. Of course, the fact that another fight was approaching was unsettling in itself. Gohan had never been the kind of warrior his father had been. He had never enjoyed fighting the way he had. Even when he had been one of the strongest fighters in existance, he had not liked the feeling of combat and had only used his strength because he had to.

Now it was once more time to use his powers. Of course, 20 years without hard training and only occasional workout had taken their toll. He was nowhere nearly as fit as he had once been. It had taken him a lot of time to get anywhere close to his former power. Maybe that was also the reason why Vegetto had sent Gohan along with Pan and Trunks? Maybe Vegetto was afraid Gohan would not be able to really fight?

Gohan shook his head. No, the Super Warrior had explained his reasons and they were valid enough. Trunks, being of noble blood would have an easier time convincing other Sayajin to come along with them and Pan /did/ have a natural diplomatic talent, even though she shared her father's reluctancy to fight. He smiled slightly, remembering the days when Pan had been younger. At the age of 10, it had appeared as though she would take much more after Goku and Videl in her approach to fighting, but somehow, that spirit had been lost along the way or in the throes of puberty. Secretly, he had been glad that Pan did not like fighting that much. After all, Chira already enjoyed it way too much for his liking. She was so much more like her mother in that aspect.

Another sigh escaped his lips as his thoughts drifted to Videl. When they had first met, he had quickly fallen in love with that awesome temper, with that strong will and with her determination. She had never lost an ounce of that. If at all, her will to grow stronger had increased during the years she had spent with Gohan and Gohan couldn't blame her. It had come as quite a surprise when she had displayed her power in training, her Limit Break as Vegetto had called it. It seemed that it wasn't the species that counted when it came to fighting talent. He smiled softly. Of course he was proud in her, in her achievment and still, he feared for her, because with her new power, she'd take more part in the battles ahead and that would put her in the line of danger much more than ever before.

„Are you OK Gohan?"

Gohan looked up, seeing Trunks enter the piloting cabin with two cans of soda in his hand and a towel over his shoulders. Obviously, he had returned from training just now.  
„Hmm, just thinking." Gohan replied, taking the can from Trunks with a thankful nod. „Where's Pan?"

Trunks chuckled slightly and sat down beside Gohan. Although he was by now 28 years old, he had not yet lost that boyish, youthful look.

„She's still in the training room. I thin she's kinda jealous of Chira and Bra although she won't admit it. Even though she doesn't like fighting that much, seeing her friends grow so much in strength obviously made her want to keep up with them."

Gohan sighed and smiled lightly, nodding to himself.

„Of course she wants to keep up." he mused, staring out at the passing stars again.

„You think they're OK back on Earth?" Trunks asked slowly, trying to hide the note of fear in his voice. Of course, he was afraid for his family, for Bulma and even moreso for his little sister, who was so much like Vegeta in many aspects that Trunks just had to worry. It was very likely Bra would be in the heat of fighting, and enjoying it.

„Of course they are. They're all in good shape and they have Vegetto to guide them. If he can't protect them, I guess no one can, right?" Gohan replied.

Trunks nodded, sipping from his soda. There was a long, thoughtful silence as each of the two followed their own thoughts, each one gazing quietly at the screen.

„There's something else to all of this." Trunks said after a while, turning to look at Gohan.

„Vegetto wants to defend Earth, of course, but he's got other aims, doesn't he? I mean, come on, it's my father and your father we're talking about. You know, Sayan pride, joy of fighting? Neither of the two would ever consider calling for help from other worlds. So what is this business about?"

Gohan nodded quietly and sipped from his soda again before answering.

„I think you're right and I think that Vegetto is trying to rebuild the Sayan race as a whole."

Trunks stared at him a moment, then nodded slowly, sinking back into his chair.

„That would make sense. With us looking for other Sayajin and all. If we find enough pure-blooded Sayajin, bring them all together, it could even work."

Gohan nodded slowly and sighed, toying with the half empty can of soda in his hands.

„The question is, knowing what we know of the Sayajin, do we want them to come back? I have no doubt that Vegetto's aims are not to create a conquering warmongering race, but what if something in the Sayan mindset makes that impossible, drives them to do what they did before Frieza destroyed their world?"

Trunks shook his head slightly.

„No, I don't believe that. You've known my father, longer than I have actually. You know how he was when he arrived on Earth and you know how he was shortly before he fused with Goku. Sayan's are not born with innate evil and if Vegetto rebuilds the Sayan race, if he really manages that, I do not think that he would allow that race to return to those ways. I just don't believe that."

Gohan smiled and nodded lightly. His thoughts ran along the same paths as Trunks's, but there was one major point he could not forget. Vegetto was still a warrior at heart as were all other pure-blooded Sayajin Gohan knew. Warriors needed to fight, they thrived in combat, driving themselves to the edge of their abilities. Would a race of warriors ever know something like peace?

/ Earth /

It was night on Kami's Lookout and all of the assembled were sitting in the main hall of the palace. Dinner was just finished and they were enjoying a little free time. Jari was sitting with Chira and Bra, engaged in what seemed to be some kind of truth or dare game. Videl was in another corner with C18 and Goten, talking among themselves. All of the assembled however were glancing to the small group near the center of the room from time to time. Vegetto was there, together with Kavri, a green skinned woman who had been introduced as Ssiti, Kavri's wife and a young woman, one who had turned out to be another Sayajin, though she looked strange. Something about that woman was not quite right, though one couldn't quite tell what it was.

Videl was curious about what they were discussing there and idly wondered why the other fighters had not been called to attend the discussion.

„What do you think?" she asked quietly.

„She's a Sayajin, no doubt about that, but she feels...strange." Goten commented, shrugging his shoulders helplessly.

Videl nodded, knowing what he meant. The young woman who called herself Arisa did feel strange. Something about her chi did not feel quite right.

„Actually, she feels a bit like you C18." Goten said, suddenly looking at C18 a bit more closely and then at the Sayan woman in the center of the room. Videl blinked, turning her senses on C18, then again on the girl. Goten was right. C18 did not register on her chi senses as really alive, but something was there, a slight flicker. With Arisa it was vice versa. She registered completely, but there were some...holes in her signature which felt a bit like the emptiness surrounding C18.

„He's right." she said softly and blinked again, wondering more and more what the secret about this girl was.

Vegetto had listened to Ssiti's explanations about their trip and how she had found the Sayan girl shortly before leaving. He had listened carefully to what Arisa had to say about Taris's Breeding Program. The picture fit perfectly. Something inside him churned when Arisa told him about the way she had been treated and changed in that laboratory and how she had been forced to bear the child of that monstrosity. Kavri's eyes mirrored his own while they listened to Arisa, never interrupting, giving her all the time she needed to spill out all the horrors of her past. Occasionally, Ssiti had to step in and comfort the young woman and Vegetto was pleased to see that obviously, a bond of friendship had developed between these two, maybe even something more. He was not entirely sure, but he felt as though Ssiti showed a motherly affection towards Arisa.

When she was finished telling her story, Vegetto nodded thoughtfully, then inclined his head.

"You both must be tired from the events and young Arisa even more so. I apologize for putting you through this, but we needed to know. Now, there's a place to rest in the next-door room. Go on and sleep. I promise you, you need not fear anything here."

Arisa nodded slowly and Ssiti cast a light, thankful nod to Vegetto. She took Arisa by the hand and headed towards the sleeping quarter, but not without passing by Kavri and placing a tender kiss on his cheek.

When they had both left the main hall, Kavri and Vegetto both turned towards each other, both quiet for a moment.

„It's not exactly news anymore", Vegetto began. „But it's more distressing to hear it from a witness. It does not change our plans however. We must first buy the others time enough to rally more Sayajin and other fighters. We may consider moving from this planet to another so we can fight without fearing for loss of civilians."

Kavri nodded slowly.

"Agreed, especially since Tarisian Shock Troops will arrive in little more than a day and once they are here, Taris will call in all the support he can get. If we can at least chose the battleground, that'll give us a little advantage, or at least even the odds a bit."

Vegetto chuckled lightly and nodded.

„And in our current situation, we can use all the odd-evening we can get, ne?"

Kavri returned the nod, then fixed his gaze on Vegetto quietly.

"So, how do we continue from here?"

Vegetto sighed again and looked around, his gaze travelling over the assembled fighters for a while before he returned to look at Kavri.

"We will wait for the arrival of these Shock Troops, deliver another little surprise and then leave this planet. Bulma is currently searching for a likely planet in the vicinity. Once there, we will probably divide into pairs. I'd like to try and take down the troops first, then the First Circle Warriors and after that…" he shrugged and smiled lightly.

"Well, who knows what happens then." Kavri commented and smiled as well.

"I'd like for you to be something like my second-in-command." Vegetto said after a moment. "You're the most experienced when it comes to our enemies, you know them better than anyone of us and thus can help me decide on tactics, plus, you are one of the strongest here."

Kavri chuckled lightly and raised a brow.

"Besides you, you mean."

Vegetto smirked slightly and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm cheating, I've got two of the most powerful fighters of this world combined in me." He said with a light twinkle in his eyes.

Kavri nodded again.

"All right, I will help you in whatever way possible. You and me, we both want the same it would appear."

Vegetto chuckled and slapped Kavri on the back lightly, nudging him forward to walk towards the others who, noticing the movement, began to assemble in a loose circle.

"Aye, we want the same and if we stick together and guide our warriors well, we will be able to reach that goal eventually."

End Chapter 9


	10. The beginning of the journey

Author's Notes:Apologies. I know this one took very long and it is comperatively short, but some things, mostly World of Warcraft g crept up on me. Anyway, I'll aim to get the next chapters to you faster than this one. Of course, some reviewing would help there. ;)

Happy reading!

**Chapter 10  
The beginning of the journey**

„_The travels between the battles  
__were strange. You'd spend days,  
__weeks together with your fellow  
__warriors, cooped up in a small  
__ship. At first, it served to strengthen  
__the bonds between us, but as the  
__war progressed, these travels  
__quickly became our refuge, our  
__possibility to deal with our thoughts,  
__our hopes and our losses, alone."_

Son Videl  
Memories

/ Earth /

Videl stood on the balcony of the Capsule Corporation HQ in the Western Capital of Earth, staring into the night, her gaze drifting from star to star. It hadn't been easy to find a spot for herself these last days and weeks. With so many people around her, new friends and family, she had almost never been alone. But this last day, the day before they would leave Earth, Videl had grown more and more uneasy. She wasn't afraid, not any longer. Now that she was able to fight with her friends, her fear of upcoming battles had been diminished significantly. No, it wasn't fear. It was a strange kind of uneasiness, one which she attributed to the leaving of Gohan and the fact that they would now, too leave this world, the world on which she had married him, on which she had given birth to two children. Gohan had already left in a ship with Pan and with Trunks and now she, too would leave, albeit in a much different direction. Needless to say, she could only guess when she would see him and her daughter again. As if that wasn't enough, now that she knew on which level of power their enemies fought, she was also afraid that, even though Gohan was one of the strongest people she knew, he could be harmed, injured, or even killed.

With all the training she had done, with all the newcomers and all the confusion, she had almost forgotten to be worried for her husband and her child. Now that she stood here, alone, with only the stars to keep her company, the full force of her worry hit her like a particularily hard punch in the stomach. She longed to see Gohan's reassuring smile, longed to hold Pan in her arms, scolded herself for not having opted to go with them, even though she knew that Vegetto would not have allowed that. For whatever reason, he believed her to play an important role in the upcoming events, that much was clear, but it didn't ease her troubled mind one bit right now.

She sighed, closed her eyes a moment and then reopened them, hopping off the balcony, then floated up towards the sky gradually. So many worries now roamed through her mind. She was actually surprised that they hadn't surfaced earlier, but then again, she HAD been busy and, as she had to admit with a deep feeling of regret, she had been too euphoric to have reached her new level of power. The sensation of strength and the certainty that she could finally /do/ something to help her friends had been strong enough to drive out any kind of worry.

Now however, the war had begun, the first battles had been fought and she was now allowing herself to see what this war could mean. For her, for Gohan, for their children, how this war would probably all change them and with these thoughts, came the nagging feeling of worry, worries for Pan, who wasn't that much of a warrior. Videl knew she had the potential, but she lacked the will, the joy in training and testing her skills. Gohan too was no longer a true warrior. Too much time he had spent with books and with his studies and his career, too long the peace had lasted on Earth. True, he was still far stronger than Videl herself, stronger even than Jari, or anyone else, except the new Sayan warrior, Kavri perhaps, but he had lost much of his capabilities. She had never blamed him for his lack of enthusiasm, mostly because she knew that he had seen more than his share of fighting already but now, his lack of training and lack of fighting spirit would be a serious problem.

However, she also knew that he would do anything to protect his family and she knew that he would now double his efforts to return to his former strength and the fact that Videl would now fight in the heat of the battles would only strengthen his ambition to train and become stronger. On the other hand, he was now lightyears away, on a mission to find and recruit other warriors for their cause. Videl was pretty sure that he was rather worried, a thought which made her feel happy and a little angry at the same time. She was strong enough to fend for her own, to fight her own battles.

Well, Gohan was now on his own, together with Pan and Trunks. Videl was certain he'd make sure that nothing would happen to their child and she was almost as certain that he would do anything to return to her side quickly. Until then, she couldn't do anything else but survive, now could she?

Survive on another world, another planet. With a slight smile, she remembered her past, when she had used to glance up at the stars and wonder what wonders they held, like any other child probably. The dream of the stars had been lost in her ambition to be a better fighter, but she had never quite forgotten it and now she would leave Earth and travel to another world. The circumstance was not very happy however. The reason for leaving Earth was to keep it safe from the King and his minions who would doubtless follow Vegetto and the others, enraged by the attack on his personal pride. Vegetto had wounded him, twice, he had simply shown up and surprised the more powerful warrior and had shown him that he was not invulnerable. His kind of people reacted very badly to that kind of situation, a situation which they believed a personal insult. She didn't know exactly what the King's reasons for coming here had been, only that he had been following Jari for some reason.

Her stomach gave a sickening lurch as she remembered the gruesome details Vegetto had told them about the Tarisian Empire's way of treating Sayan women. Although he had shown no pictures, her imagination was vivid enough to show her images of tortured, used, manipulated women and girls, all to create a better warrior, all to strengthen the blood of the King himself. Apparently Jari was the last known free Sayan female alive and once the King had realized she was alive, he had hunted her. Videl guessed his dedication to that cause was due to the fact that he feared the Sayan race could be re-established and could threaten his Empire. Of course, Videl also guessed that this was in part Vegetto's plan.

She knew from story's Gohan had used to tell her, that one part of Vegetto, Vegeta, had been the Prince of the Saya-jin and that for the time of his life, that pride had not left him. She suspected that he would have liked a chance to return his race to life and she also suspected that the wish had become inherent to Vegetto's thinking, too. Of course, for a long time, this wish had been deemed impossible, because there had been no indication of a female Sayan still alive.

Then Jari had arrived out of nowhere and with her, came the faint hope of the wish finally coming true. One female did not make a race, but her survival hinted at the possibility of others still out there. Before Jari had appeared, it had appeared as though the only survivors of the destruction of Vegeta-sei had been Goku and Vegeta, but apparently, the information was wrong. Apparently there had been other Sayan's off-planet.

She was not entirely sure if it was a good idea to recreate the Sayan race. After all, Gohan had also told her that they had been a race of conquerors, warriors who fought only because they enjoyed it, who killed entire civilizations in the service of a mad overlord. She doubted that Vegetto would allow such a sentiment to spread again, not after he had lived on the "good" side for so long, but she couldn't be entirely sure. Then again, who could stop him? No one in their group was strong enough to compete with the fused being, that much was clear and now Jari would not turn from his side, neither would Kavri. The three full blooded Sayans, the beginning of a new era of Saya-jins.

She chuckled to herself softly and turned in the air, drifting back towards the balcony slowly. However it would turn out, she would fight for what she believed and right now, there were other things to worry about than the vague idea that the Sayan race-to-be would be of similar nature as the last one. With a soft tap, her feet settled on the balcony and she reopened her eyes, staring up to the stars once more, mentally saying good bye to the constellations she had known for so long before she turned and walked back into the building to get some rest before the biggest adventure in her life would begin.

There was someone else who couldn't sleep that night. On another balcony, in the same building, the young Sayan girl stood, staring at the stars just like Videl and her thoughts travelled in similar ways. Jari, too was thinking about the upcoming travel, about the upcoming battles and about her new friends. Of course, as a child on the run, she had spent much more time in space than the others, had travelled from planet to planet, only lingering long enough to put in some months of training, to learn a few new techniques before she left again, always afraid that her pursuer might catch up and get a hold on her. But now, she would not leave to flee. The reasons were somewhat similar, she had to admit, because they were leaving Earth in order to protect it from the magnitude of destruction that would be inherent to the battles. Still, they were not fleeing, instead they were choosing the battleground. A last trip before the real war the real fight began. The fight she had been waiting for all her life, which she had been dreading and looking forward to at the same time. It was good that she had come here, a lucky stroke of fortune to bring her together with these formidable warriors. Their strength and their abilities finally enabled her to think a bit more positive about the future. Of course, their fighting prowess was not the only thing that lifted her spirits. Much more than anything else, the sense of friendship which she felt ever since she had arrived here was the main factor for her new, brighter outlook on life. She felt like she belonged, for the first time since she had had to leave her parents behind. That was the main reason why she could smile more openly these days, why she could laugh with the others, something which felt so wonderful, something she had almost forgotten in the years of her flight.

She wanted to be part of this family, because it gave her a sense of security which she had never known before and she would not want to live without it anymore. She didn't know if it even was all of them, all of the people here, but she knew for a fact that she didn't want to leave Vegetto's side again. The Super Warrior had given her hope, had shown her the way to her own strength and she was grateful beyond words for his help. Of course she knew that he had his own agenda, his own plans and she had a rather good idea what those plans were. She had yet to think about the possibility of a new Sayan race. Of course, the thought pleased her, since she was proud to be part of such a strong race and she thought it would be a good idea to bring them back, if only to not feel alone anymore. She could see that Vegetto felt alone. By now, Chira had told her a lot about the silent warrior, and she sympathised with his loss, with the tragic decision he had had to make.

She had also found herself trying to figure out how she would have decided in his position. Would she have chosen the fusion, too? Would she have sacrificed her personality, her life, to save those she loved? Before she had come to this world, probably not, but now, she wasn't so sure anymore. For her new friends, for her new family, she would probably lay down her life and gladly.

A soft smile tugged at her lips as that thought wandered through her head. The stars above shone brightly, illuminating the balcony she stood on. She chided herself for the thoughts about Fusion. It was none of her business and she wasn't likely to fuse with anybody after all. She highly doubted anyone would want to fuse with her anyway. The war would be long, so many things could happen, but that remained in the future and she had to think of the here and now in order to survive.

She shivered slightly as her thoughts now traveled to the two battles which had already been fought. Both times, they had had the advantage of surprise and she knew that, but it had felt good to be able to actually hurt her enemies, those people who had been chasing her for so long. Still, it had also been frightening because Vegetto had revealed part of his true power in those two fights. The awesome, destructive potential had been staggering and, what was really bad, it had not been enough to seriously harm Taris. She wasn't sure if Vegetto had gone all out in the fight, she somehow doubted it, but even if he hadn't, the fact that Taris hadn't even been seriously harmed by such a vicious attack was somewhat frightening.

Quietly, she shook her head to clear it of gloomy thoughts. It was no use to tell herself that they had no chance. She knew that they couldn't fight Taris directly, that they would have to hope for other supporters in order to stand a chance against Taris's armies, but there was hope. There was a chance they could win this war and she had to concentrate on that.

Vegetto sat together with Kavri and his wife in the main dining room of Capsule Corporation Headquarters. Bulma was there, too, but she kept to the kitchen part, sipping from a steaming cup of coffee and eyeing her visitors from time to time. Not suspiciously, she still trusted Vegetto to know what he was doing, but interested. After all, what they had revealed about the modifications to humans was, if scaring, also interesting on a scientific basis. Kavri himself had an arm around the reptilian woman, his hand absentmindedly stroking her bare shoulder from time to time as he spoke with Vegetto about the upcoming events. He was glad that Kavri had turned out to be more Sayan than what he had first appeared to be. For one thing, Kavri was a formidable fighter, if not physically, his tactical and strategical skills were excellent as far as Vegetto could tell, secondly, he had detailed information about their enemy and of course that was vital to the success of their fight and lastly, Vegetto would not have liked to see a Sayan truly chained, cowed into obedience.

Now that the pain collar was gone, Kavri was much ore relaxed, if still serious and quiet, but that was something Vegetto had expected, and another thing he liked. He had chosen to rely on Kavri, much because he was more of an adult than most of the other fighters, but also because he could keep a cool head, which was important, very important in a fight where your enemy was stronger.

"What do you think?" Vegetto was just asking, his gaze no longer resting on the two sitting at the table, but on the maps which covered the surface of the table completely.

They had spent the last two hours with Vegetto explaining the possible planets for their first jump. It was a fact they would leave tomorrow, but Vegetto had not yet decided where to, a reason being that he wanted to keep it a secret for as long before launch as possible, another reason being he had simply not decided yet. There were several candidates, all of which they could reach fast enough to ensure that they had a decent headstart from the King and his lackeys. All of them were, as far as Bulma had been able to determine, uninhabitet and offered many locations for ambushes and lots of tactical advantages if you knew how to use them. He had explained the details of the planets, had talked about his guesses as to what would be the best choice and had explained that in the long run, they would have to go straight for Taris Prime, though if he could manage it, egetto planned to do that only at the very end.

Kavri had listened quietly, nodding now and then, but also frowning in thought from time to time. So far he had not said a word, had merely glanced at the maps presented to him and studied them quietly. Someone less observant than Vegetto could have believed Kavri was simply not listening, but Vegetto could see his eyes scanning each and every inch of the maps, see the quiet calculations and decisions Kavri made even as he looked at the maps. It truly was a good thing to have him on their side.

"I'd opt for this one." He finally said, pointing to one of the maps and shoving the others aside a bit. The planet was a rocky desert with an extremely hot atmosphere, breathable for humans and sayans however. According to the information Bulma had collected, the planet had about half the mass of Earth and features only ten times the gravity of Earth standard. The surface was a maze of canyons and valleys, crisscrossing the entire world, even to the poles, which were less hot, but still not cold enough to allow ice to form.

"It has the most compatible atmosphere to this world, and least Gravity differences, which will make the adaptation process for our fighters easier, meaning we can act earlier. The canyons and valleys are excellent places to lay ambushes and it will be extremely difficult to locate us by search alone when we chose a few caves as temporary residence."

Vegetto nodded in agreement and smiled faintly. It would have been his second choice, but Kavri's arguments were firm.

"All right then." He nodded and leaned back a bit, folding his arms behind his head, he gazed at Kavri and Ssiti quietly for a moment, then inclined his head.

"I would prefer to wait on this subject, but it is very important for me and for the future." he began, eyeing Ssiti quietly a moment.

"As you well know, Taris has all but extinguished the Sayan race and until recently, everyone, including I, believed that that was for good. However, with the appearance of Jari and Arsia and the revelation that there are more females out there, everything has changed. Kavri probably knows already, but I want to be open with you as well Ssiti."

He nodded slightly and the woman returned the nod gracefully. Only then did Vegetto continue.

"I know it's a question you probably don't want to answer right away, and you don't have to. In fact, you have a lot of time to think about it. I would like for Kavri to donate his genes so one of the females can carry a child from him." He had thought about it long and hard, but the more diversity there was in the genepool, the better this would work. Bulma had assured him so and even with her technology and smarts, it would be difficult to ensure that no inter-breeding problems would occur. One more donator of DNA seemed a small thing, ut in this kind of thing, it was rather the opposite. Besides that, Kavri was one of the strongest and finest and it would be good to have his genes in the pool in any case.

Ssiti had not reacted visibly, but those snakelike eyes regarded him with quiet contemplation in them. She was thinking about it allright and though it was hard to tell, vegetto thought he could detect a hint of dislike at the idea. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and cool, not betraying any emotion she felt for the subject. Probably, she had learned that from her husband, he thought.

"If I do agree, will it be possible for us to raise the child ourselves. I know for the need if you indeed intend torecreate the Sayan race, but you can ahrdly blame me for wanting to be mother for my husbands child."

Vegetto nodded slowly and inclined his head again, a habit he had left over from Goku.

"I can't be certain, but it's not out of the question. Bulma tells me that each female should carry at least three children from thre different males and I doubt that all of them want to be mothers for three children. Too much of a warrior in many, I guess." He chuckled slightly, thinking of Jari and how she would think of being mother.

"I'd think it would be easy to find someone who could carry the child and, upon birth, give it into your care."

Ssiti remained quiet for a while after his words, though her gaze was still fixed on Vegetto as if she could look into his mind.

"I will have to think about it a bit longer. It's not a decision to make lightly." she finally replied and Vegetto nodded again.

Of course this was no matter to decide over a few moments of thought, but the fact that she didn't dismiss it as impossible outright gave Vegetto an inkling of hope that she would agree to it. Kavri had been a bit uneasy about the whole thing, no doubt because of his wife and Vegetto could understand only too well. Idly, his gaze traveled to Bulma for a moment and he wondered what she was thinking about the whole thing. After all he was still partly the man she had once called husband. No longer that man, but parts of him remained, enough parts for her to recognize him and he was sure it was not easy for her to finally say goodbye to Vegeta.

He cast down his eyes as if in thought, though in truth he chided himself for thinking along these paths. These thoughts belonged to another man, a man he no longer was. Vegeta was dead, so was Goku, what remained was Vegetto and even though he combined the two, he was as unique a person as anyone. With the upcoming matters, the battles and the decisions to make, he could not afford to let his thoughts linger in the past. He had to look forward and make sure that they survived this and that in the end, his dream of a once again proud race of Sayans would come true.

Quietly, he got up and put the maps on the desk in a neat stack.

"We should all get some rest before tomorrow. And there's not much time remaaining before tomorrow is here."

He nodded to Kavri and Ssiti, picked up the stack of maps and turned to walk out of the dining room. His gaze lingered on Bulma for a moment and he also gave her a slight nod which she barely returned.

_You must focus on the future._

With a nod that was only for him, he looked away from Bulma and left the room.

Morning came and saw Capsule Corporation Headquarters in a buzz of activity. People milled about, hurrying from the main building to a smaller, domed one next to it. Some of those people wore technicians overalls, obviously working on one thing or the other, others were carrying suitcases.

Inside the dome shaped building, Vegetto was still talking with Bulma, quietly, while Kavri was overseeing the loading procedures. He wore a patient, sometimes amused smile on his lips as some of the younger girls tried to get some of their toys and playthngs along, but there was only so much space in the ship and they couldn't afford to waste it all on toys. Some were allowed on board, even Kavri and vegetto saw the need for the younger warriors to distract themselves on the long voyage, and it couldn't always be training or the mind would sooner or later snap like a twig. All in all it was a well organized chaos that swarmed around the ship constantly.

Gradually however, the technicians all retired from the ship to the consoles at the outer wall of the building. Preflightchecks were done, all things were in their place. The last pieces of equipment had been loaded and now the technical staff of Capsule Corporation was readying everything for launch.

The crew, the fighters, stood in front of the ramp, waiting for Vegetto who was getting a few final words of advice from Bulma. When they were done with talking, they approached the group quietly, Vegetto joining them and Bulma shaking her head, looking at them assembled. There were tears in her eyes, understandable since she was seeing her child go into a war. They had all said their goodbyes earlier already, their familes such as they were lined up on the second story of the building from where they would watch the launch.

"You take good care of them." Bulma muttered and stepped forward to hug Bra once more. The teenager smiled and held her mother tightly for a moment, then the two broke apart and Bulma moved back. The words had been meant for Vegetto of course and he intended to take them to heart.

"All right then, let's get going." Vegetto said finally and the group obeyed, quickly, probably because they didn't want to prolong the goodbyes. They all hoped this was not a final goodbye, but they all knew that it could be so.

Vegetto was the last to board the ship. At the hatch, he turned again, surveying the friends and family they would leave behind. They were waving, tears in some eyes, sadness in all of them. He raised his hand in a short wave, then stepped through the hatch, once more reminding himself that he had to look forward and that he couldn't allow sentimentality on his part toendanger the success of their fight.

King Taris was still in abad mood and gradually, his subordinates were growing afraid, because no matter what they did, there seemed to be no possibility of success. They had searched countless hours and after all, this planet wasn't /that/ large, but they had failed to locate those people who had attacked them. They hadn't even been able to tell a vague direction and the King was growing tired of reports of failure. It seemed unavoidable that some of the lesser soldiers would soon be executed, some of those who had arrived chasing Kavri's wife.

And then, when Taris's temper finally seemed on the verge of cracking, a message came through the comsystem of one of the capsules.

It was a text message and the soldier who noticed it ran to Taris immediately, glad he had at last found a clue to the Sayan's whereabouts and hoping he would be promoted for this.

Taris received the message, staring at the paper for a moment, then pointed one finger at the soldier and blasted him with a bolt of energy. His hands trembling in fury he stood up and turned to the others, giving commands to leave immediately, commands which were obeyed swiftly seeing that the King was in no mood to comment any further.

The note drifted to the ground from Taris's hands when he finally unclenched them.

It was a short message.

"We, the defenders of Earth, chose to change the site of battle. It pleases us that you, King Taris, apparently dislike to use your full power on our planet and want to make sure that you can use everything at your disposal in the upcoming fight. You should be able to track us easily enough, if not, well, we doubt you're really that incompetent.

Signed, Defenders of Earth."


	11. Daughter Heir

Author's Note: Again, my apologies for this being so late. I'll freely admit that I'm somewhat captured by World of Warcraft currently and my writing is suffering because of it. Sorry for that, but I'll try to make up for it in the near future. I've discovered a talented artist who is probably willin o do pictures of all the characters in the story. :)  
Also, it was pointed out in one of the reviews, that this story does not really need a M rating. That is true, it doesn't need it, yet. In the course of the story however, there will come a time when i do believe M is required, which is why I marked it as such. However, starting with this update, i will reduce the rating for the time being.  
Thanks for everyone who read the story and sent a review and please keep reading an enjoying. Now, have fun!

Yours,  
SingsOfDeath

**Chapter 11**  
Daughter Heir

„_It was later discovered, that the  
__manipulation of genes, psyche and  
__body had a rather disturbing effect  
__on the sanity of the subjects. It was  
__difficult to counter these effects and,  
__seeing the implications of the  
__Tarisians work on the girls, one can  
__almost feel sorry, even for someone  
__like Sirania."_

_- Bra Briefs  
__Aftermath of War_

/ In Space, 2 weeks post departure /

Even when traveling, Vegetto didn't allow them to slack down on their training. The Spaceship had been constructed specifically to his request and included a large training area in which they trained in pairs. Jari didn't mind that, actually she welcomed it. After all, it took her mind of other things. Things like the fact that within the next few weeks, they would all enter the real battle. Prior to her arrival on earth, she had had the natural Sayan joy of battle, which she retained even now, but added to that, was a strange sort of anxiety for the safety of her friends. Vegetto had told her that in the end, that would be one of her strongest points as a warrior, but at the moment, she felt as though it was a hindrance. She couldn't afford to be afraid in battle, now could she?

But, be that as it may, they were on their way now and there was no turning back. She didn't want to turn back either. Not with all the people she had come to like and love.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt a stab of pain in her side and realized she had not been able to deflect the last attack of Chira who was already continuing her assault on her. Vegetto had paired the two of them, saying that Chira was making best progress of the younger girls and Jari and her had obviously formed a special bond which would allow them to continue to a far greater powerlevel eventually. She grit her teeth, concentrating on the fight again, but controlled her anger, refraining from charging into the golden haired battle state of Super Sayajin. She was now able to master the second form of this remarkable transformation, so was Chira as she had come to find out, but both had agreed to end their training sessions with a regular fight without powering up. Jari and Chira both had found that it served to strengthen their control over their energies and thus made it possible for them to use their power more efficiently. When they had reported to Vegetto about that he had smiled, proudly and said that it obviously had been a very good idea to pair them.

Jari allowed Chira's attacks to continue a moment longer, then channeled the **chi** in her body. Chira's leg, which should have hit Jari's head straight on now sizzled through thin air as her form dissolved. A moment later, jari herself attacked from behind, but even as her fist darted forward, she knew that Chira had dodged like she had and her fist, too hit thin air a moment before a small sphere of energy seemed to materialize out of thin air behind her. She whirled around, again redirecting the flows of **chi** in her body and the sphere hurtled through a weak afterimage of Jari while she was already engaging Chira again in close combat.

No, she couldn't afford to think too much. Too much thinking would cost lives in the upcoming battles, so much was clear and she would not allow those people to die, not after they had done so much for her.

Vegetto meanwhile sat in the control room of the Spaceship, together with Kavri. The two were watching Jari and Chira on a monitor which showed the entire training area. An amused smile played over the Superwarriors lips as his gaze follows the action on the monitor.

„Not bad, hm?" he commented after a moment and turned back to Kavri, leaning back.

Kavri, eyes still on the screen, nodded thoughtfully and inclined his head.

„You have plans for those two, don't you?" he asked, then turning back to Vegetto and leaning back as well, taking the cup of coffee from a side table.

„Aye." Vegetto replied, eyeing the monitor again for a moment.

„It's obvious both of them have it in themselves to grow much further than the others. Well, so far as we know. I'm not making bets as to where we will end up with Videl. Her potential has always been great, but nobody could have known just how, before now, so we'll just have to see what the future brings in her case. Among the others however, Jari and Chira show the most potential and thus the most promise."

He shrugged and took his own cup, sipping from it thoughtfully.

„Do you have a clear conscience using them like this?" Kavri asked slowly.

„A clear conscience?" Vegetto mused and looked to the ceiling.

„I'm doing what needs to be done for Jari to survive. Jari can't survive unless Taris is killed. The other things are side-effects. The simple truth is that in order to help her, I have to use her, just as I have to use Chira, Pan, Bra and the others. I can't say I like it, but there's no other way. I can't fight this war alone and besides, I'm fairly certain that it will work out the way we have planned."

Kavri nodded slowly and now also sipped from his coffee.

„What about after the war?" he asked.

Vegetto blinked and looked back to Kavri, raising a brow.

„What about it?" he asked, carefully.

Kavri chuckled lightly and shook his head.

„Everyone knows you have plans to rebuild the Sayan race, I think everybody can understand it, I for one will welcome it and help you, or I wouldn't be here. Still, I'm not sure I see exactly how you want to make it happen."

Vegetto shrugged his shoulders faintly and leaned back again.

„It's a simple enough matter really. I've talked with Bulma and she has given me some information about numbers when it comes to building a healthy society. You said something about 12 remaining Sayan males and we have (number) Sayan women. We'll have to use a little bit of genetics, but Bulma promised me that it won't be difficult. Normally, it would be best if each woman were to bear a child from three different males and each man would sire a child with three different women. Of course, that's not quite possible in our case, so, we'll use genetics to alter some sequences and thuse create a broader base for the society. It will take a while still and we'll have to control births and pairings for two, maybe three generations, but it will work."

He raised the cup to his lips and drank slowly while Kavri nodded quietly, obviously waiting for him to go on. After a moment of contemplation, Vegetto spoke again.

„I'll have to see how the Sayan girls are, how much damage their psyche has taken from the experiments. If Arisa is any indication, there might be some complications, because they'll likely not enjoy the thought of being subject to another...manipulation."

He sighed deeply.

„I talked with Bulma and she told me that the procedure is harmless for both, mother and child. I trust her, and I hope I can get the Sayans to trust me, that way, we can convince them that our methods will not harm them. Another possibility, is that some of the children of these girls are alive somewhere and we can rescue them. It's something we will try in any event, but it's...not a possibility too big I fear."

He bit his lip and his eyes narrowed considerably, but he controlled his anger and sighed slowly.

„By the by, I hear that your wife has kind of adopted Arisa as her step-daughter?"

Kavri chuckled slowly and nodded.

„Ssiti always wanted children, even though she knew she could never have children with me. I suppose it's no surprise that she has taken a liking to the girl. Arisa is sweet, in her own way and she clings to Ssiti as though there's no one else in the world."

His features darkened somewhat as he continued.

„Well, considering what happened to her, it's no big surprise that she latches onto the first being to show her some kindness. I'm not complaining. I don't know if being a father will suit me, but I'm willing to give it a try."

Vegetto nodded slowly and sighed.

„I had some tries at being a father, but I figure I messed them all up to one degree or another." He paused there, then shook his head and took another sip of coffee.

„In any case, I can appreciate Ssiti's happiness at being a mother, but I would still like you to consider the thought of adding your genes to the mix. You are very strong and it would broaden the base further."

Kavri nodded slowly and shrugged his shoulders.

„So long as I don't have to sleep with another woman, I think I can accept that. Ssiti is a logical being and while I think she will be a bit...hmmm, disgruntled, she will agree to it."

Vegetto nodded and glanced to the screen again, where Jari and Chira had stopped fighting and were now engaged in idle, obviously humorous conversation while heading to the showers. He smiled briefly and turned back to Kavri again.

„There is another thing I wanted to talk about with you." he said after a moment.

„The 1st Circle Warriors. What can you tell me about them? I understand they are all rather strong, if not as strong as the King himself."

Kavri nodded and leaned over to call up some information on the monitor.

„I've created some files in the local computer." he said, gesturing to the monitor where a tall, rather slim looking man with short cropped, black hair was displayed.

„First, there's Eranin, an old school Tarisian actually. He was the easiest to get along with, because he remembers the old days of the Empire, the better days, as he thinks, or that's what my guess is. However, he has sworn loyalty to the King and he is a man of his word, utterly and completely. He's among the weaker of them in power, but he has a very cunning mind and his technique is better than all of the others. I'd rate him second only to Taris himself, which is why Taris takes great pains to keep him happy. I'd also say, he is a match for you. I'm not sure who would win in a direct fight."

Vegetto nodded and Kavri went on, calling up another image, this time of a powerfully built man with long, silvery hair and completely black eyes.

„Thargul. Although he doesn't look it, he is famous for his speed, rather than his strength. The only one faster then him is the King himself, but he lacks in the technique department as well as at adaptation. His ways are the best, others are not to be considered, that's his mentality when it comes to fighting. Apart from that, I know he fancies Berelain."

Kavri pushed another button and the next picture was displayed, this time of a amazon-like woman with somewhat coarse features and short, spiky blue hair.

„Berelain, one of the two females in the 1st Circle. She's cruel and enjoys causing pain and suffering. She tends to get carried away, reveling in the destruction she can cause, but her energy reservoirs are impressive. In combat, she prefers to use energy attacks more than close combat and she has a wide array of energy attacks available to her. She knows of Thargul's taste for her and she enjoys teasing him but as far as I can see, she'd never consider any man, much less him. She's not the relationship type woman." Kavri added with a dry chuckle, then continued, calling up another image, again, of a woman.

This one seemed very small and almost fragile with milky white skin and the same black eyes as Thargul. Long, black hair was twined into two intricate braids and a diadem with a ruby showed on her forehead.

„Garida. Very self confident, very smart, very quick to anger. She's not much of a fighter, but her talents lie elsewhere. She's an energy thief. Her speciality is to steal other's energy and use it against them. You have to be very careful with her. Any energy-based attack is suicide against her. She can catch your energy, enhance it and send it right back into your skull without you ever having a chance to react. All that keeps her from ursurping Taris is the fact that his power reserves are so great that she'd suffer a burnout if she tried to manipulate his energy. As long as that is the case, she will follow Taris's orders to the letter, but it could be that she turns on him when he is weakened."

Vegetto nodded thoughtfully, keeping his gaze fixed on the screen as Kavri went on to the next.

„This is Thiroan, the last in the group." A pale, blue skinned man was shown, atheltically built with a smirk on his features and dark green eyes.

„He is the weakest of them, but could still hurt you or overpower any of the others with a little effort. He's also the newest addition to the 1st Circle, thus, he doesn't trust any of the others and they don't trust him. Not that they really trust anyone, but with the old school boys, they at least know their loyalties somewhat. It's likely they will not rush to his rescue if he gets into a tight spot."

Kavri leaned back again and looked at Vegetto.

„So much for the 1st Circle. None of them, except Eranin is really loyal, they are just kept under thight control and are afraid of Taris. That fear and the station of power they carry in the Empire keep them in line."

Vegetto nodded and leaned back, closing his eyes a moment and sighing softly.

„Well, that gives us a bit to work with. Those 1st Circle Warriors are a bit of a headache really, because you can't predict them. I had the impression that most of them would not mourn the death of Taris, but at their own terms, not ours, so it's difficult to say how they will react if Taris really has to fight for his life."

Kavri nodded and then shrugged his shoulders.

„They know you will not welcome them with open arms, so they will do what is best for them. That could be helping Taris, that could also be fleeing if it seems you are winning and offering a truce should you really win."

Again, Vegetto nodded and chuckled softly.

„It'd be good to have them out of the way without even having to fight them, but that won't happen. We'll just have to see against whom we will send who in time. Anyway, that's discussion for later. It's our turn in the training room, shall we get started?"

/ In Pursuit of Earth Space Ship, Tarisian Cruiser /

Taris ignored the squabbling of his 1st Circle at this first meeting after they had left Earth. He had sent for another ship and they had rendezvoused earlier that day with the Space Capsules. They were still following this Vegetto and his followers and the 1st Circle was discussing how it was possible that such a powerful Sayan could have survived. Taris was tired of it, but he allowed the discussion to go on, mostly to keep the Warriors happy. They had been humiliated, almost as much as him and they needed to vent somehow. That was necessary, Taris knew, because otherwise they would not be nearly as effective in combat.

He stood suddenly, which made the others fall silent.

„Continue this discussion without me. I want the results and your analysis in two hours. Until then, no one is to disturb me!" he ordered and without another word, he left the room.

He was angry. Angry with himself that he had been so foolish not to see the true power of that Sayan, angry at Kavri for deserting him, angry at the scientists because they had allowed one of the Sayan girls to ecscape. It was all a big mess, but he would clean up that mess. It wasn't difficult. He just would have to wipe out these defenders. Not an impossible task, but a challenge. After years and years of being the best warrior the universe had to offer, after years of nothing being even remotely capable of harming him, now there was someone who had actually blooded him.

He threw open the doors to his quarters and slammed them shut again, snarling with anger as he sat down on the elaborate couch and stared out into the darkness of space.

His keen senses picked up the light footsteps behind him. He didn't turn. Only one person had permission and the ability to enter his quarters when he was not there.

„You are tense father." Sirania, his daughter, whispered and stopped behind him, putting her small but strong hands on his shoulders, massaging them slowly.

He could see her in the glass of the window now. Tall, but lithe with a muscular build that was still feminine enough to catch the eyes of men. Her skin was of bronze color and her hair a dark black in the same tangled and spiky style as it always was. Her eyes were bright red and there were intricate patterns which marked her features, adding to the exoticness of her appearance.

„How can I not be? This entire situation is...tense." he growled and shook his head. „This...Sayan", he spat the word. „He is a danger to everything."

Sirania continued to massage her father slowly. She didn't show any vsiible reaction to her fathers cursing about Sayan's, even though she herself was in fact, half Sayan. Although only 5 true years old, she had been artifically grown to appear fully grown and had been programmed with the knowledge and behavioral patterns of such an age. She was the best the Tarisian scientists had been able to procure from their manipulations on Sayans and from the breeding tests. Her strength was already rivalling that of the best 1st Circle Warrior and her energy reserves were sheer inexhaustive. Apart from that, she was full of love for her father, but hated nearly everything else. Having been kept hidden from the public, she could afford that still, but Taris knew that eventually, he would have to put a chain on her quicksilver temper. She tended to fly into fits of rage without provocation, then would rampage about, destroying everything in her way and everyone. She enjoyed killing as much as she enjoyed fighting and she loved to make her victims suffer. The scientists had explained to Taris that the manipulations, the growth enhancers and the programming of her mind had led to the creation of something which they discribed as „the personality of a monster". Taris found it difficult to change her, but she was his future. She would eventually be even more powerful than himself and that would ensure her supreme reign over the Tarisian Empire when he was gone. However, some of her sick traits would have to be eliminated before she would be fit to rule.

„You are stronger than him. You can kill him and you know it." Sirania whispered quietly as she continued, a slight smile playing over her features.

„Of course, but he is not stupid. He won't confront me directly until he is sure of victory, so I will have to make him confront me somehow." he snarled.

„And the 1st Circle is no help whatsoever. They sit there, bickering and whining that they have actually wounded. None of them has nearly enough brains to come up with a plan to counter this Vegetto."

Siranie smirked and narrowed her eyes. Taris knew she hated the 1st Circle almost more than anything else. In her eyes, these weaklings deserved nothing but a slow and painful death, but then again, most people deserved that in her eyes. He knew of no exceptions, not even those which she sometimes asked him to let her have. The first few times, he had simply granted that wish, seeing no danger in letting a girl of her age engage in some bedtime activities. It was only after the 3rd that he realized that she killed them all in the act of making love in bizarre and twisted ways.

He had given her the first beating and had made her swear that she would not kill them like that. After all, it was a hell of a mess to clean up and there were more discreet ways to dispose of unwanted lovers. The population of the Empire didn't want to know about the love life of their ruler, at least not in such detail and if they found out, it would certainly not be good for morale. Nothing was more dangerous to an empire than civil war. Despite his hatred for anything weaker than him, except his daughter, he knew that an entire people directing their anger at him would eventually manage to overcome him. Besides, he was not one of those foolish powermongers who only lusted for power to destroy whatever came in their path. What was power good for if you had nothing to demonstrate it against? Fighting was fun, killing was good, but if he had kept on destryoing everything in his path he would not have an entire nationthat did his every bidding today and he enjoyed his position too much to give it up. Being the leader of an entire people was far more rewarding than being the only living thing in the galaxy after all.

„You could allow me to attack him." Sirania whispered quietly, but even then, the eagerness was obvious in her voice. The barely contained thirst for battle.

„No..." Taris said slowly, shaking his head. Sirania was powerful, yes, probably more powerful than any of the defenders, but he wasn't sure about this Vegetto. He knew that he had not revealed his full power yet and even at the level he had used on that planet Earth, he would have been able to defeat Sirania, because apart from his power, Taris had seen that this Sayan had an exceptional technique and was a warrior through and through.

„No little one, this is not your fight. He belongs to me and I want to crush him personally."

That was true, but the other reason, that he didn't want Sirania to die would not have sat well with her. She despised being protected, but she could accept that her father wanted to kill someone personally. Apart from that, she obeyed her fathers wishes perfectly, the scientists had made sure that would be the case. He closed his eyes, enjoying her attentions while he mused about the code the scientists had given him to unlock the last barrier in her, the last thing that now exercised forced control over her power. Once she had learned to control her energies by herself, he could remove that last barrier and her full potential would be available.

/ In Space, approaching Tarisian Space /

Gohan and Pan sat in the control room of their ship. Trunks was in his cabin, already asleep. He had been rather quiet these days and Gohan suspected it was because of the nearness to Pan and that amused him somewhat. It also made him feel a bit better to think that even in such times, feelings like love could cause people to behave so natural and...cute.

He chuckled to himself, thinking about that and Pan looked up to him from the navigational console, brushing back a strand of her hair and raising a brow questioningly.

„What in all heavens causes you to chuckle and smile like that?" she asked, a bit sourly. Gohan smiled, knowing that Pan didn't like being seperated from her best friend, Bra, for so long, much less the certainity of a war approaching.

„Nothing in particular, really. But you should smile a bit more, you know." he replied.

„What's there to smile about? Mom and Chira are following Vegetto into a hopeless battle and as far as we know they could be dead already. Did you sense Vegetto's power? Do you think Chira or mom could do anything against a foe that is even MORE powerful? Mom is human! OK, she has reached a new level of power, and she's stronger than me probably, but hell, Vegetto?" she shook her head in frustration and looked down.

Gohan smiled faintly and nodded. He knew how Pan felt. He had his own worries, of course. After all his child and beloved wife were out there, fighting a war in which they were like pebbles caught in a tornado, at least for the time being. He knew himself that Chira had a huge potential. He had felt it in the few training seissions he had done with her and he could see it in her eyes, but at the moment, she was still a young girl, just having crossed the barrier of Super Sayajin 2 and thus still far away of being a fighter compareable to vegetto or this Taris.

Videl was, as Pan had said, human. Gohan had been shocked when Videl had reached her new state of power and it had taken him a while to overcome his protective nature and be happy for her. He knew she had always wanted to be able to truly fight with them, with him and his friends, ever since she had come to him and learned to fly. A part of him had always been glad that she was not able to fight for real, another part had been afraid that, even by just being involved with him, she would be a traget to others and then she could not defend herself. Now, she had reached a state of power no human had ever been capable of. Gohan knew strong humans, Krillin, Yamcha, even Muten Roshi. They had been the strongest humans for a long while and now, his wife had advanced far beyond any of them. This Limit Break as she called it put her above even Chira in power and she could compete with C-18, Trunks and Goten now.

„I know what you mean sweetheart, but you cannot say it is a hopeless cause. Vegetto is not a lunatic out to fight hopeless battles. He has a plan and I trust him to know what he is doing. I have always trusted my father to do anything in his power to save us and in the end, Vegeta was the same. Whatever Trunks has told you about his father, when he joined with my father to finish the demon, he was as much a protector of Earth as your grandfather."

Pan sighed and nodded slowly, but she was still frustrated.

„I know. I know we can trust Vegetto, but that still leaves us here, far away from our family and hoping that we will see them again sometime. It's not a situation I can like." she said, almost sullenly.

„You don't have to like it. I don't feel much different." Gohan replied quietly.

He stood up and walked to the main viewscreen, gazing out at the stars.

„We have to succeed, that's all. We have to find support and then we can go back to mom and Chira. Vegetto will keep them alive, I am sure about that. Vegetto would never let anything happen to Chira." He paused for a moment, then smiled softly.

„Mom told me before we left, that Vegetto visited us during his years of absence. She told me she had sometimes woken up, seen a faint shape hovering outside your bedroom window, gazing at you. I think he missed you very much."

Pan sniffed slightly, turning away from Gohan and shaking her head.

„I don't doubt he will protect them. But you know Chira. She's so damn strong willed and she loves fighting. Will she listen to him when he orders her out of battle? Or will she ignore him and charge into her death? I..." she paused, swallowing.

„I didn't have enough time dad. It all happened so fast and Chira and I..." she sniffed slowly, a sure sign of coming tears and Gohan knew why. Chira and Pan had never been as close as they could have been as sisters. In fact, Pan and Chira had had quite some fights, because of their different natures.

„I never told her how much she means to me." Pan continued, obviously wanting to get it out now.

„I...I teased her about her boyish ways, that she would never find a boyfriend. I used to make fun of her with Bra and I never accepted when she invited me to training or when she wanted to talk with me. I was so...so distant and now I'm on some damn spaceship, lightyears away from her and I didn't even tell her that I love her!"

Gohan smiled faintly and turned, walking over to Pan and took her into his arms. She shook, pushing herself against her father and seeking refuge in his embrace.

„She knows you love her. You are her sister and I am sure she loves you as much as you love her. It's natural for you to have fights and to quarrel. OK, you could have been closer, but you didn't do anything wrong. She went her way, you went yours and that's all. That doesn't change that you are sisters and that you love each other." he said quietly, stroking her hair gently.

Pan nodded against his chest and remained in his arms a while longer before she disengaged and wiped her eyes, smiling faintly.

„Of course. I'm just being a stupid little girl, eh?"

Gohan laughed softly and shook his head.  
„You're being yourself. That's nothing to be ashamed of and certainly nothing silly. If you were not worried about Chira and your mother, then I'd really be afraid."

He turned his head, gazing again at the blackness of space. Somewhere out there, Videl and Chira would soon engage in battle, against enemies much stronger than themselves and only Vegetto's tactical skills and his own power would keep this war from being the end of them all. There would be no draw, no surrender. The only option open to them was victory.

With a slight sigh he sat down again and leaned back, inclining his head.

„You know why Trunks is hiding in his cabin, right?" he said, grinning.

Pan blinked and turned to her father, then blushed a light crimson.

„Eh...why the change of topic?" she replied, grumbling a bit.

Gohan chuckled and winked slightly.

„You should settle this somehow. It'll be dangerous and probably difficult to get the Sayans out of this Tarisian Empire. We can't have you or Trunks be distracted by such things when we're there."

Pan bit her lip and shrugged slightly, sighing.

„You're right." she murmured and turned, mumbling something to herself while she walked out of the control room.

Gohan shook his head, smiling lightly as he turned back to the screen and closed his eyes. Videl was better at such things. Somehow, women had a knack to talk about their problems which men couldn't quite get, but he hoped he supposed this was good enough for the time being. He glanced at the screens, showing him the ETA on the first planet of the Tarisian Empire. Kavri had given them the maps they needed to navigate these systems without alerting everyone to their presence immediately. The digits on the screen showed an ETA of 12 days and 4 hours.

He sighed and leaned back again. Even though he was not eager for this battle to start, he wished they would finally arrive at their destination. This sitting in spaceships and doing nothing but training and sleeping and some reading and a little bit of talking was getting on everyone's nerves.

A dry chuckle escaped his lips, thinking that soon enough, he would wish back the time of long travels and quietness.

**End Chapter 11**


	12. First Blood

**Chapter 12  
**First Blood 

„_The first victim of war, is innocence."  
_

It had taken them 5 weeks to reach the first planet on which the first battles would take place. Jari stood in the control room of the spaceship with the others, gazing at the main viewer as the ship descended through a hazy atmosphere down onto the first Battleground. According to the computer, they still had a few days until Taris and his followers would be here, time they would need to get accustomed to the world and to find good spots for fighting. Vegetto had explained parts of his plan the prior evening and mostly, he seemed to believe a hit and run tactic would be best for them. Jari would have agreed, but part of her, her Sayan part, still didn't like the thought of running away, especially not now that she had reached new levels of power and new allies. Still, Vegetto was their leader, not by election of course, but by simple logic. Kavri remained a bit in the background but it was clear that he was an important advisor, having been in service to Taris himself. Jari still had a few doubts about the Sayan, but Vegetto trusted him and Jari forced herself to trust that judgement.

„Rather bleak, don't you think?" Chira whispered from beside her and Jari nodded. The world they would land on was indeed, bleak. Of course, that was a good thing, considering what kind of destructive power soon would rage across ist surface. Vegetto had made clear that they should not hold back. There would be no pulling aces out of their sleeves in these fights, because a small mistake could mean instant death. All in all, Jari thought, Vegetto had been rather dark in his predictions and plans, but somehow, she still felt inspired and hopeful. Chira had told her that one of the two people who had formed Vegetto had been famous for that ability. To inspire hope in others when all hope seemed lost and Vegetto seemed to have incorporated that trait.

She nodded in answer to Chira's question, now letting her gaze travel over the people present here. Vegetto was at the center of the room with Kavri next to him and the ever present, ever silent Ssiti at his side. Vegetto was quiet, a slight smile playing over his lips as he gazed at the screen. She suspected he was looking forward to the challenge which amused her a bit. He was after all, a Sayan, even though he seemed so calm and collected all the time. Kavri was a mask of no emotions, hiding everything he thought or felt, except the soft tenderness with which he sometimes touched Ssiti's arm. There was someone else standing there, though somehow Jari just now noticed her. It was Arisa, one of the subjects to the Sayan/Tarisian Breeding Program. She was easy to ignore because she was so good at being ignored, but actually, her appearance was rather remarkable. The metallic arm was plainly visible as she was wearing an arm-free jumpsuit. The tail was wrapped around her waist, only the tip twitching nervously from time to time. Her gaze was fixed on the screen and after a moment Jari caught the faint metallic-red shimmer which revealed the cybernetical eye. Indeed, a most startling appearance and yet, she was easily missed. She had grown a bit more open the lest few weeks, but the only one she seemed to trust was Ssiti. Jari hoped that the green-skinned woman would be able to coax Arisa out of her hiding, because she knew how loneliness could gnaw at your self.

Her gaze traveled on to Goten and C-18. Goten was jittery, also looking forward to fight, but in a different sort of way. He was too...childish in Jari's eyes, but he was strong, so much was clear. C-18 now was another person she could not read, but then again, she was a cyborg. She seemed to simply let events happen and react accordingly.

Bra was standing near Videl at the back of the room. Videl had her arms crossed, staring at the screen with set features, her eyes showing her determination to fight and win the battles ahead. Jari had come to admire the older woman for her strength of character, her strength of will. Even though she was still not a match for Jari in her full powered form, nor for Chira who had advanced startlingly quick after being beaten by her mother for once, Videl was still extremely capable in combat and she knew how to use her newfound power to devastating effect. Vegetto himself was not sure how she would develope, if she would encounter such a Limit again and break it again. Jari herself was fairly certain that she would. Something in her eyes told Jari that she would not stop until she could compete with all of them.

The blue haired Bra was another matter. She seemed to miss her best friend, Pan a lot, but she was determined to do her part. She didn't take to the training with as much zeal as Chira, but still with a certain joy in fighting. She was strog and capable and Jari thought that once Pan was back, she would find her true strength.

And of course, Chira stood right next to her, a small smile on her lips as she gazed at the screen. She, like Vegetto, was obviously looking forward to it, forward to fighting. Jari shared that attitude, though she was still somewhat afraid that her new caring for these people would eventually weaken her in battle.

All in all, a very strong group.

She just hoped it would be enough.

Once they had settled down on the planet, Vegetto had left the ship and began to scout the immediate area, quickly locating what he had been looking for. A deep cavern where he maneuvered the ship so that it couldn't be found easily. He powered down the systems so it couldn't be detected by scanners either, then left that cavern, heading to a large plateau where he assembled the fighters and paired them. Goten and C-18 went together, Videl and Bra, Chira and Jari of course and Vegetto would remain with Kavri, Ssiti and Arisa, directing and acting as was necessary. The planet was rich in canyons and caverns, all perfectly suited for ambushes and surprise attacks. Combined with their ability to mask their signatures, they would be able to surprise quite a few of the enemies and use that to their advantage. Vegetto estimated that they would not remain here for longer than a day, if even that long. The first skirmishes would end quickly, hopefully to their advantage. He hoped they could deliver a few bloody noses, but he doubted they would give any real losses to the enemy. Taris would send his troops out first and then attack where he knew his enemy was, at least that was what Kavri had guessed and Vegetto was inclined to trust the man's judgement.

He sent the teams off to their locations, cautioning them and once again reminding them to think of the different 1st Circle warriors and to memorize their strengths and weaknesses. When they were gone, he headed back to the ship, the others following quickly. He had talked with Ssiti and Arisa the previous day, asking if Arisa was ready to fight with them, but Arisa was not ready, not physically and not mentally. He trusted Ssiti to mend the mental damage and the others helped when it came to her training, but she was not advancing very fast, mostly because she was still inhibited by her fear and anxiousness. Vegetto believed she would overcome that fear eventually and he hoped that Ssiti would have taught her enough by then that she wouldn't turn into a rampaging monster out for revenge.

„We're not going to fight much here, are we?" Kavri asked quietly as they returned to the cave and settled down in the ship.

Vegetto chuckled slightly.

„Not that much, no. This is mainly to get the younger ones to test their skills in real combat. We'll help out as needed, but we'll let them fight for themselves as much as possible. It's important for them to know we trust them."

Kavri nodded and gazed at the screen where the King's ship was slowly descending upon the world.

Vegetto had given them small devices which they could attach to their ears. They allowed communication across the world through their ship's communication system and would give them the possibility to be coordinated more efficiently. Chira and Jari had taken their position quietly and were now gazing along the steep canyon which was their area of operation. Each of them was pursuing her own thoughts at the moment, they had scarcely talked since they had gotten here in the first place. Chira was quietly contemplating the fact that soon, she would fight her first real battle, a battle where she would not turn tail and run after a few punches delievered, but which would go on until she, or her opponent was beaten. It caused a somewhat tingly sensation in her belly. She had anticipated this fight for a long time, had hoped and trained for this day, when she could finally prove herself as a warrior worthy of Goku's legacy. All her childhood she had soaked up the stories about her grandfather, his battles, his courage, his strength. She had always wished she could have met him one day, not Vegetto, but Goku, although she knew it was impossible, but in the end, all she really wanted was to prove herself to be of the same spirit as him. She wanted nothing more than to be able to compare to him and thus she had trained relentlessly from early childhood on, had bugged her father and mother to teach her, had snuck away to fight with Trunks or Goten, had challenged Bra and Pan, had asked Marron's mother to spar with her and teach her, in short, had used every possibility. She had been encouraged by her mother, for whom Chira had the utmost respect. At the age of 6 she had been able to defeat her mother in sparring, although Videl had at that time, been no laughing matter. As the years progressed, Videl had no longer been a challenge, but she still was able to teach Chira a few tricks and, what was much more important, she had shown Chira how the mind of a warrior truly worked, something that not many others had been able to tell her.

Now was the time to prove herself, to show that she knew what she was doing, that she was strong and could fight alongside great warriors like C18 and Goten and Jari and most important, Vegetto.

A slight shiver ran down her back as she thought about the Super Warrior that was, at least technically, her grandfather, half, somehow...anyhow. It was very confusing, but she did feel a sort of attachment to him, but that was mostly because he did incorporate many of the traits that Goku had had. The awesome feeling of power she had felt in the room of Spirit and Time, emanating from him, it had tingled all her senses, almost painfully. She had wondered how one person could hold that much energy without burning up like a cinder. Then again, he was the warrior of legend, the fighter who had in the end defeated the Demon and he had had 20 years to train and perfect himself.

She sighed softly, which caught the attention of Jari sitting beside her, squatting lazily against a rock. She winked playfully over to Chira and stuck out her tongue.

„Tired of waiting?" she asked and Chira laughed faintly.

When first Jari had arrived on this world, she had been sour, bitter and resentful, but gradually, with much effort from all of them, she had opened up and had accepted that she was now part of a greater family and much to Chira's delight, she had grown to be very attached to Chira herself. A bond had formed between the two, growing stronger as they trained together, perfected their fighting techniques. It had taken two years, but now they knew each other so well, that they could be sisters and although Chira dearly loved Pan as her sister, she secretly sometimes wished that Chira indeed were her sister. Then again, it was good the way it had turned out. Chira took no small amount of pride from the fact that Chira had chosen her to be her partner in this fight and only through Jari had she herself been able to coax out so much of her potential in such a short span of time.

„Tired of waiting, hm, yeah, kinda." she replied after a moment of hesitation and then grinned slightly.

„I'm kinda tingly inside, you know, looking forward..." she was cut short as Vegetto's voice cracked through their communication device.

„Chira, Jari, your targets are approaching. Group of 5 Soldiers and one 1st Circle Warrior. Be on your guard."

Chira blinked, then pushed a button on the device.

„Understood." she said, unsure if she should say anything else.

„You two'll be fine..." Vegetto added after a brief pause. „You'll know what to do."

The connection closed and Jari smiled to Chira slightly.

„Makes you kinda proud to hear him voice his trust like that, hm? Him of all people." she whispered.

Chira nodded and smiled to herself.

„Aye, that it does."

A moment later, her senses registered the energy fields drawing closer. There were indeed 6 distinct signatures, one much more powerful than the five others, but all of them no laughing matter.

Jari nodded to Chira and got to her feet, crouching behind the rocks where they had hid themselves. They knew what to do. They'd wait until the group was close enough and spring their trap, coming at one opponent at a time as a pair. They had agreed that it cwould be best to attack a soldier at first, mostly because they could do more damage there and could infuriate the others. Fury led to mistakes easily as they well knew, as Vegetto had told them.

Their prey drew closer, Jari and Chira tensed slightly, but still kept their power down, hiding their signature. Chira's keen eyes spotted the group flying not far above ground level, apparently searching for them or the defenders in general.

Chira and Jari sprang into action exactly at the same moment when the group passed overhead. From one moment to the other, they both were fully powered up, their hair spiky and golden, emerald eyes piercing and narrowed as they leapt into the air, vanishing from normal sight. Jari reappeared in front one of the soldiers, spun and slammed her foot into the face of the totally surprised man. He was thrown back, but not for long as Chira appeared right in his flight path, driving her elbow into his back harshly. The impact caused a resounding bang in the air. Only now did the others realize what was going on, but the man was already sailing back to Jari who was saulting backwards and again, her foot connected with the face of the soldier, sending him flying back. Chira spun around even as the first other soldier reacted and sent a bolt of energy at her. She caught the arm of the hurtling tropper and smashed him at the attacker. He collided with the energy sphere and a large explosion covered the immediate area in dust.

The first soldier fell to the ground, lifeless, even as Chira charged towards the next soldier and Jari took on another one, the element of surprise had aided them in dispatching one of the soldiers quickly and effectively, but the real battle began now.

In other locations around the world, the King's troops were being ambushed and attacked. The fights broke out quickly and on all occasions, at least one of the King's men was down after only a few seconds of combat. Vegetto and Kavri watched the battles unfold from the confines of the ship. The communication devices also served as a way to keep an eye on the health of the defenders and also to provide footage from the battle scenes. So far, the defenders were doing a very good job. All of them had used the element of surprise very well, had waited until the last possible moment to attack the enemy. He itched to go out there and fight himself and he knew Kavri felt the same, but this was not their moment, not their fight. The King was nowhere to be seen and for the moment, they had to keep in mind that it was more important to give the younger defenders practise and, most important of all, to bolster their confidence. Vegetto did not fool himself, he knew that they would not be able to defeat even one of the 1st Circle Warriors, but they would manage to down a few of the soldiers and that would be a good start, especially since it would serve to bolster the trust in the defenders own skills.

„We've got trouble with group 2. C 18 and Bra are having difficulties. The 1st Circle there has reacted too quickly." Kavri commented quietly and put one of the communication devices to his ear.

Vegetto nodded lightly.

„Be careful. You know what to do."

Kavri nodded, then left the room quickly. The two of them had agreed that Kavri should be the one to help out their fighters first, mostly because it would also surprise the 1st Circle Warriors and would give them a few moments of time.

His gaze flickered across the screens. The ambush had worked well, but now, the fights were at a standoff. The 1st Circle had sprung into action and the defenders were now being pushed back gradually. He pushed a button on the command ocnsole, activating a channel to all teams.

„Withdraw now. We've done all we can for the time being." he spoke quietly, refraining from adding praise for the moment. Praise would distract them and maybe urge them to add yet another attack, one that might mean their deaths.

Acknowledgements came in, some ready, others grudgingly. A slight smile played over his features, hearing Chira's barely contained disappointment that they could not continue the fight even though she knew she had no chance. He closed the connection again and began with the immediate preparations for launch.

The door opened and Ssiti walked in, acoompanied by Arisa.

„You've sent him out?" she asked quietly.

Vegetto nodded, punching a few commands into the console.

„Aye, there was some trouble, but he'll be OK."

Ssiti nodded slightly and without another word, she took up a position at the command console, continuing with the launch preperations. Vegetto eyed her quietly for a moment, before his gaze drifted to Arisa. Once again, he admired both women. Ssiti for her devotion to her husband, her trust in his skills and strength and her love. Arisa, for her will to survive and for her strength to hold out. Throughout the last weeks, Ssiti had told Vegetto the things Arisa had confided to Ssiti, about the breeding Program, about the mistreatment, about the horrors of the laboratories. Truth be told, Vegetto had barely contained his anger, had barely refrained from changing the course directly to Taris Prime to raid the laboratory immediately. He knew it would do no good, not with Taris so hot on their heels, but the things Arisa had told them were grueling enough to shake even him to the core.

Eventually, they would arrive there and free the prisoners. They would make sure Taris would pay for what he had done, Vegetto would make sure of that. He knew that right now, he was no match for the King. He might blood him, might even deliver some real damage, but he would not be able to defeat him. A frustrating thought, very frustrating and it had driven him to train harder than ever before.

„The King and two of his 1st Circle have left their ship and are proceeding towards Chira and Jari. Projected intercept time, 5 minutes." Ssiti said, pointing to one of the monitors which showed the signal of Chira and Jari, fleeing from the remaining troops which they had ambushed.

Vegetto narrowed his eyes and turned to the green-skinned woman quickly.

„Please, continue with launch procedures. If possible, try to divert the fighters courses so they all arrive here within a margin of a minute so there will be no fighting in the vicinity."

Ssiti simply nodded, put on a head-set and set to work, Arisa never leaving her side while Vegetto left the ship and took off towards the incoming Chira and Jari.

Chira and Jari meanwhile did their best to keep up the flight from the pursuing warriors. That was more difficult than it sounded, because they had to abide by the commands which Ssiti now spoke through the communicators. They sometimes would have to turn, send a barrage of energy at their pursuers, engage in a bit of fighting before they would turn and run again, all so that the fighters would reach the destination at the same time. Due to these small fights, both of them were now rather exhausted. They were outnumbered four to two and there was also the 1st Circle Warrior who seemed to take it as a personal insult that they had decapacitated or killed one of his soldiers. His atacks were extremely fast and Chira and Jari only managed to get away from him time after time, because they used their talent in team fighting extremely well.

But the end was in sight. They only had a few kilometers to go, a laughable distance considering the speeds they used to flee. Both of them were sweating hard, several small wounds leaking blood, but nothing too serious yet.

„Chira, Jari, slow down flight. You have to hold out another minute." Ssiti's calm voice came over the communicator and Chira growled softly, but acknowledged.

She looked over to Jari, nodded slightly and then they both turned in midflight, throwing their hands forward and releasing a dozen or so energy bolts each at their pursuers before seperating in two different directions and sending another flurry of bolts. The pursuing fighters seperated in two groups and came at them furiously. Chira and Jari were driven back quickly, only on the defense, but still they were hit several times. Just as they were about to continue their flight, the 1st Circle Warrior came at Chira and scored a direct hit at her head which sent her sprawling backward.

„Chira!" Jari cried, horrified as her friend was attacked in midflight again. Several attacks hit home and Chira was left breathless for a moment as she was caught in a bonecrushing grip and her head was being bent backwards visciously.

Jari couldn't do antything as she was still trying to defend herself from the other two soldiers. Just when she thought Chira was as good as dead, something streaked past her and her two attackers were both hurled back and then down towards the ground, crashing into the rocky landscape. A powerful surge of relieve flooded through her as she saw the wild, long mane of Vegetto in his Super-Sayajin 3 form as he changed course towards Chira and knocked the 1st Circle Warrior off her back with a powerful kick.

Chira, able to breath again finally, coughed violently, doubling over, but Vegetto gave her no time to relax, took her by the arm and came back to Jari.

„You continue, fast! I'll follow."

Jari nodded compliance, took Chira onto her back and dashed off. Vegetto turned, the golden corona of energy around him a beacon and warning for anyone who would dare to follow them. When she looked back, now safely out of reach, she saw, to her horror, that none other than the King himself was approaching Vegetto.

She bit her lip, fighting the urge to turn and help Vegetto but the weight on her shoulders and the exhausted breathing she could hear in her ear convinced her that it was better to continue as instructed.

„You should know your fight is fruitless. You know you can't beat me, not with all your power!"

Vegetto listened to Taris, who had stopped a bit away from him and was eyeing him with pure venom in his eyes.

„You have killed some of my low-level soldiers, but you and I both know that they are nothing." Taris approached the figure of Vegetto slowly.

Vegetto meanwhile eyed the King quietly, knowing that it was highgly dangerous to remain here, but he wanted to make sure the ship got off planet safely. In his ear, he heard Ssiti announce that everyone was safely aboard and the launch was in progress. He would just have to hold out a few minutes to ensure that everyone was safely away.

„You Sayan's are always the same until you are collared. So proud, so fierce, so stupid." Taris snarled. Vegetto noted the slight rise of energy, saw the slight glint in the hand of his opponent and knew he was readying an attack.

„I'll make sure you will suffer a fitting punishment for your insolence. You belong to a dead race and nothing will ever make you come back!"

Vegetto allowed a slight chuckle to escape his lips.

„Nothing except you. Isn't it pure irony that you yourself are making sure that a Sayan, if only half Sayan will be ruler of the most powerful empire in the galaxy?"

His ploy worked. The King was staring at him wide-eyed, shocked. The energy levels returned to normal, the glint disappeared and he looked at Vegetto, stunned, dumbfounded.

„Don't underestimate Sayan genes you fool. If you continue with your plan, you will realize that Sayan blood can lead to quite interesting developments in the psyche of your daughter."

The King staggered back, almost as if his physically and narrowed his eyes.

Vegetto used this moment to raise his hand to his forehead and vanished, teleporting directly to the ship which was already leaving orbit, leaving the King in his state of shock and surprise, leaving him wondering where he knew all of this form, leaving him wondering if his little secret had leaked and maybe leaked even further, something which would create an uproar in his empire.

He reappeared on the bridge of the ship, next to Kavri who turned to look at him with a raised brow.

„Interesting conversation." He commented with a slight smile.

Vegetto chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

„I'm hoping it will give him more to think about so we get a bit of a lead on them. It worked for the purpose anyway. Did everyone make it back safely?"

Kavri nodded and pointed to the back of the ship.

„Chira is in a med-tank, but it's nothing really serious. She'll be up and about in no time. Everyone else has some minor injuries, but nothing that can't be healed quickly. Ssiti is tending to them now."

Vegetto nodded again and looked back to the screen which showed the planet growing smaller by the second as they left the system with maximum speed.

„Well, for a first fight, that went rather well, don't you agree?" he said after a moment.

Kavri nodded and joined his side.

„Indeed. They can really be proud of themselves. Every team has managed to score one or two strikes at the enemy and the fact that they could even defend themselv es somehow against the 1st Circle is something to be proud of, too."

Vegetto smiled and nodded aín agreement.

„Well, now they have some time to rest and I suppose some of them will have to deal with something at which they are new."

Kavri glanced at him sideways, raising a brow and Vegetto sighed slightly.

„Many are new to real combat. Especially the younger ones, they have never before killed someone. They did today and I suppose they'll have to work out how to deal with that."

Kavri blinked, then nodded slowly, realizing that their warriors were not, as he was used to, seasoned warriors with experience in battle, no, they were children and had never before seen death. Of course they would need some time to come to grips with that reality.

„The group is strong, they will support each other and they will deal with it." Kavri said with confidence. Indeed, the group was strong and what he respected most about this whole group of warriors was their loyality to each other.

Vegetto nodded and turned around.

„It won't be the last time for them to deal with death I'm afraid. I didn't want them to have to deal with that so young, but they ARE warriors and as such, they will have to get used to the idea of killing, because after all, that is what we do in such a war. As ugly as it is..." he pasued a moment there, sighed and shook his head.

„They will manage..." he added and left the bridge.

„They will have to…" Kavri said quietly as he was left alone on the bridge, staring ahead into an uncertain future.

End Chapter 12


	13. Fury Unleashed

_Author's note: Hello and sorry for keeping you waiting on Chapter 12 for so long. As an apology, Chapter 13 is right up and with this chapter things will get quite dark. Thank you again everyone for reading the story and for posting your comments and reviews. Now have fun!_

**Chapter 13**  
Fury Unleashed

„_He was a real cutie. I wanted to  
__make him mine, but he was so  
__stubborn and kept telling me  
__I was doing wrong in following  
__my father. I wanted to have him  
__still and destroy anything keeping  
__him from me...even himself if  
__needed."_

_- Memories of Sirania  
__Found in a Search of the Palace on Taris Prime _

The long journey had finally come to an end. Gohan was glad, but of course, he was also anxious. They would soon touch down on a world of the Tarisian Empire, one of the worlds furthest away from the central world, but still, enemy territory. He knew about the importance of their mission, but it didn't go well with him that Pan had come along. Then again, at least here he could watch over her directly and she wouldn't be in the warzone. He had trained ceaselessly in the time of their travel, but he knew that he was still far from his old form. It was kind of frustrating, but then again, fighting had never really been his favourite thing, not like his father, or Chira for that matter.

Chira.

She came so much after her grandfather it was almost frightening. It was as though she was a female Son Goku and it wasn't just his opinion. Bulma and Chi-Chi constantly said the very same thing, Bulma with a kind of nostalgic look and Chi-Chi with a bit of fear. Of course, she had lost her husband to a fight and she had had to witness her entire family going against seemingly impossible odds over and over again. That Chira was so much like Goku was nice in a way that she reminded everyone around her that even though Goku was gone, his spirit and his legacy lived on, not only in the fused being Vegetto, but in the form of Chira. On the other hand, it also always brought back memories of the old days where Goku had still been around.

„Incoming Ship, this is Spaceport Control, identify yourself and state your reason for visit."

The voice came from the communication system and tore Gohan away from his thoughts about his daughter. He sat upright and then opened a channel.

„This is Trade Ship Iruki, requesting permission to land. We bring goods and merchandise to sell on this world."

Bulma had thoughtfully provided several false identities and had also constructed a capsule set which allowed them to fill their storage space with various things in order to pass any security scan. A moment later, the controller replied.

„Trade Ship Iruki, your request is granted. Approach vector and landing bay is being transmitted, stand by for auto-landing procedure."

„Acknowledged." Gohan simply replied and closed the connection.

A moment later, the control of the ship was taken by the Spaceport authorities and the small ship began to descend towards the landing destination.

„So, this is it, hm?" Trunks commented as he stepped into the piloting cabin and gazed out of the viewscreen where the planet they were about to land on loomed ever closer.

„Mh." Gohan murmured and leaned back, adjusting the clothing Bulma had prepared for them on directions from Kavri. He had explicitly stated that they would need this kind of clothing if they wanted their disguise to work.

„Is it just me or does the planet itself look nasty?" Pan asked quietly as she joined the two of them and stepped besides her father, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Gohan chuckled slightly and stood up.

„Don't go and make things worse than they are. So far, this is just a planet, our disguise has worked nicely. Now all we have to do is find some clues. We'll have to be careful though. Kavri repeated often enough that anything connected to Sayan's is regarded as extremely suspicious."

Pan and Trunks both nodded slightly.

„All right then, let's go down to the exit. Remember, we're busy traders and want to make some profit here."

Pan chuckled at the comment from her father.

„I can do that. I'll just act like all the silly girls at school when there's a flea-market and try to rip off anyone and everything."

Gohan grinned slightly and winked.

„Good start, now let's go."

**/ Garintsu, Tarisian Empire, Southern Prefecture /**

Gohan stepped out of the ship and looked around carefully for a moment. The spaceport was huge and it was busy. Thousands of people milled about, arriving or departing, going about buisiness or pleasure. Nobody paid them any attention and Gohan was glad for that.

„All right, first of all, let's go to the Trade District. Anything else would be suspicious."

Trunks and Pan, walking beside him and a bit behind nodded and the group set off. They walked along huge corridors, lined with small shops and snackbars. Kavri had thoughtfully provided them with a basic course of the Tarisian language and symbols, so Gohan knew where to go.

Proud and confident, he walked ahead, with Trunks and Pan beside him. Nobody paid them much attention, just glanced at them from time to time. It was a good thing that Gohan's Sayan heritage was not easily detected, much less Pan's or Trunks. They blended in perfectly, Bulma having done a superb job of replicating the clothing. They left the arrival area of the spaceport a moment later, exiting into the main complex where people waited for others to arive, where others hurried to catch a flight or where people spent their time before they had to be at the gate. His scarce language skills allowed him to identify the signpost which told the way to the trade hall of the spaceport, so he guided Pan and Trunks to follow him as he walked through the masses of people.

While he did so, he could not fail to notice that the general mood of the crowd was kind of subdued. A possible reason came into view a few moments later when a group of 4 armored and uniformed guards rounded a corner. Everyone made way for them with hasty bows and whispered apologies, but they didn't even notice. They walked along, their gazes drifting now this way, now that, searching and lstening for wrongdoers, or so Gohan suspected. As he took a moment to glance around the huge hall, he could identify at least 5 of these patrols in the immediate area and his senses registered more in the spaceport as a whole.

"Tight security." Trunks muttered from his left and Gohan nodded slightly as they proceeded along the hall.

"Tight indeed. But it's focused inwards. I suppose these are kind of police."

He shook his head slightly, remembering all too well his own lectures at University about ancient Empires on Earth which had handled security in much the same way. He also remembered that most of these Empires finally fell apart from the inside. This time around, they couldn't afford to wait until that time, but Gohan suspected that this Empire would not survive for much longer, Vegetto or no Vegetto.

He sighed slightly as they continued to make their way through the crowded streets. His thoughts once again traveled to his wife who was probably right now fighting somewhere in the galaxy, fighting in a battle to the end, to death. He winced slightly at the thought of Videl dying.

Another thing which was different from all their other battles was that after they had used the Dragonballs to bring back the people killed by Buu, the Dragon had somberly announced that he could not allow them to use the Dragonballs anymore. Something in his voice, something in his behaviour had hinted to Gohan that he was doing this for their own good. He had explained, once, that the Dragonballs had never been intended to be used so often, so frequently that people forgot about the value of life.

Gohan could understand the Dragon's reasoning. After all, what was death when you knew for certain you could come back a year or so later? Just a slight inconveniece, nothing more and that made life something cheap, easily taken and given back by the power of the Magic Dragonballs. But no more. Shen Long had vanished, along with any trace of the Dragonballs and many had looked for them. Surprisingly, Kami-sama had not been taken away, but he could or would not make new Dragonballs and Piccolo…Piccolo had vanished the same day that the Dragonballs had. No one knew where he had gone or why, but Gohan suspected that his disappearance was linked to the Dragonballs, too. It had struck him as another blow that, so shortly after his father's departure, his one-time mentor and friend had left him, too.

He had come over the grief, but they all had had to adapt to the fact that there were no more Dragonballs, that no one could be brought back. Of course, in the times of peace this had not been such a big deal, but now, with a war at their hands, it was a very real danger a very immediate threat. If any of them died in this fight, they would be gone for good, not to return. That was what Gohan was afraid of most, that Videl would die while he was unable to protect her. He knew he'd never forgive himself should that happen, nor if Pan or Chira died in that way. It had taken him a lot of self-control to follow Vegetto's orders, no matter how logical they were. He had argued with his one-time father and he remembered the warrior's last words quite keenly.

"It's not about you, or me, or Videl Gohan. It's about all of Earth, all of these planets out there in danger of being invaded and all the races being exterminated. Here, you can protect Videl, maybe, but out there you can change the fate of the galaxy to a future worth living…and dying for."

He sighed again and nodded to himself. Of course Vegetto had been right and in the end Gohan had given in, reigned in his protective instincts and now they were here, ready to fulfill their part in this war which would ultimately decide all of their fates.

**/ In Space, Defenders Spaceship /**

Jari was worried. Ever since their battle her newfound best friend, Chira, had withdrawn from all of the Defenders. She trained by herself, sat by herself during lunchtime, and Jari had spotted her wandering through the ships long corridors by herself, looking troubled and afraid. It was now 3 days after their battle on the last planet and the wounds they had caried away had healed easily enough. No one had been hurt badly and Vegetto had congratulated them all on their performance. Chira had been in the Med-Tank for one day, but these injuries, too, were more or less minor. Ever since she had left medical however, Chira had not spoken to anyone except for a whispered "good-morning" or so.

Jari decided it was time to end this strange behaviour and thus she sought out Chira in one of her favourite spots on the ship, deep inside the engine room where a small window showed a great view of the stars as they streaked past at FTL speeds. She sat there, arms curled around her legs, pulled against her chest and stared into the emptiness of space.

"Hey little one." Jari said with a soft smile on her lips as she approached.

Chira looked up slowly and managed a weak smile.

"I'm not in the mood for training Jari. Please…" Jari cut her off with a shake of her head and a slight chuckle.

"I'm not here for training, I just want to talk with you." she said.

Chira looked down again and sighed deeply.

"I don't want to talk." she muttered.

Jari sat down beside Chira and shook her head, leaning back.

"Well, too bad, I won't leave until you tell me why you are so strange these days. I mean come on. You don't train with me anymore, you don't talk with me anymore, nor with anyone else on this ship. They are worried about you, especially your mother, you know."

Chira sighed again and smirked softly.

"She wouldn't understand, no one would understand. They would say I'm weak and stupid."

Jari raised a brow and looked at Chira sideways.

"I would really love to hear what you think could make anyone think of you as weak or stupid. Everyone on this ship holds you in the highest respects and I know for a fact your mother is extremely proud of you. Yeah, I talked with her. She wanted to talk to me because she sees we've become such good friends. And good friends share everything, right?" Jari smiled softly.

"That's what you told me, remember? Back on Earth. Good friends are there for each other, no matter what."

Chira shivered slightly and then suddenly leaned against Jari, shaking a little. Chira was surprised to see tears running from the girl's closed eyes. She was a bit at a loss, but she gently put her arms around Chira and held her softly.

"I…I'm so stupid." Chira sobbed. "I…I feel bad…it's. I see him floating to the ground, I see him lying there, staring at nothingness…"

Jari blinked, confused, wondering about whom she was talking, but she said nothing, just held the girl in a reassuring way.

"I..I mean I know I couldn't have done…anything else…they attacked right…I mean we only fought back…and we do it…because they would…would kill us but…but what if he had…had friends…family? I killed him, just like that. He won't be back, won't come home to his children and bring presents from far away worlds. He won't kiss his wife good-night anymore…won't laugh with his friends anymore."

Jari swallowed lightly, finally unerstanding what Chira was so upset about. She had never before killed someone. This fight had brought about her first kill, had made her into a killer. It had robbed her of the innocence which Jari had lost so long ago in her flight when she had killed out of the need to survive. In the mind-numbing emptiness on her flight, Jari had coped with it as a simple matter of need, but here, for Chira, it was different. What was worse, Jari could not help her in this matter. Everyone had to cope with this by themselves in the end. They had to find a way to accept that death was part of life and especially in war, it was sometimes necessary to kill in order to survive. It was a lecture she had learned only later in her life, but something essential to being a warrior. Chira would have to accept that or she would break and fall into hopelessness, but how to explain that to her. How to make her feel better in such a situation? The answer came in the form of their mentor as Vegetto stepped into the small room and knelt down in front of both of them. His dark eyes surveyed them quietly. Jari nodded softly, Chira looked up and swallowed hard.

"No…no don't…don't think I'm too weak. I can…I can still fight! I'm not weak, truly, I can…it's nothing! It doesn't matter!" she whispered, but still clung to Jari.

"Sh, don't say such words when you don't mean them." Vegetto said quietly, smiling in a reassuring sort of way.

"You are neither the first, nor would you be the last to have problems with their first kill, with their first death and it is good that way."

Chira wanted to say something, but Vegetto shook his head, indicating her to listen.

"As a warrior, you will always come into situations in which you have to kill, in which there is no way other than to destroy your enemy. You will have to accept that, but that doesn't mean you have to like it. In fact, killing is something that should never become easy for you. As long as you can justify your actions, as long as you are certain that what you do is right, as long as you can take responsibility for your actions, you will be OK. Killing is never an easy thing and even for us warriors, where the act of killing can be merely the flick of a finger, the actual kill must never be easy. It is therefor perfectly alright for you to think about such things and to feel grief for the death you caused, but you must also remember that you had no other choice, just as he had no choice but to fight against you and try to kill you. That is the nature of war, as ugly as it is. Before this war is over, many people will have died, there is sometimes no way around that because of those who go against us. We must defend ourselves against that threat and we must at the same time hope that we can put an end to the killing as quickly as possible."

Jari nodded quietly at his words. She would never have been able to find these words, but now that she heard them they made perfect sense and she felt Chira relax in her arms slowly but surely. Vegetto smiled as he saw the tears gradually fade from Chira's features and he raised a hand ruffling through her hair lightly.

"And never begin to think that you are no longer needed or weak or worthless, OK?" he said softly.

"You're one of the best fighters here and you have a lot to do in the upcoming events. Don't lose your spirit little one."

Chira nodded slightly, swallowed and then smiled a little. Then she suddenly jumped and cried out a little as Jari had poked her in the ribs.

"Oi!" she grumbled and poked back at which Jari laughed and soon they were both engaged in a poking fight. They didn't notice when Vegetto got up, smiling gently, watching them for another moment before he turned and left the room.

**/ Garintsu – Imperial Arrest Center Alpha /**

Gohan was staring at the wall of a prison block. He was not particularily fond of staring at this wall, as he had been doing for the past hours. He was still surprised that they were here, so quickly. Everything had been going well at the beginning. They had done a few trades, had made a few contacts, had avoided too much attention. After a day of this, Gohan had ventured a disgusted remark about Sayan's, just to bring the topic up.

A few moments later, a patrol had arrived and arrested them on the spot. He had cautioned Trunks and Pan not to fight, sensing that it would be no good for them to go into a battle at that moment. They had been brought to this prison complex and Gohan had been even more surprised to feel that inside the cell, his ability to draw on his inner energies was limited, extremely limited. He still had enough power to break out if need be, but he was not so sure about battling off the guards. Somehow, they had managed to build a device which was able to block energy from being manipulated. It was a little frustrating, but Gohan was not really worried. If needed, they would be able to break out, however so far, he thought it best to play along and plead innocence. For one, such an escape would rob him of much of his strength and he would have to rely heavily on Pan and Trunks to get them through the rest of the barriers to their ship and off the planet and second, he would need a certain amount of time to charge up enough energy to burst free, considering the restraints they had somehow put on them. He knew that Pan was in the cell to his right and Trunks in the one to his right. They were calm as far as he could tell. They trusted him.

He idly wondered what was happening with the others at the moment. Were they safe? Of course they were. They had Vegetto and Kavri to look after them, right? Two of the most powerful warriors Gohan had ever seen. It couldn't be possible that anything had happened to his family. Chira was strong, she could look after herself and Videl, yeah, Videl was strong, too. Gohan chuckled quietly to himself, remembering his own shock as she had first displayed her newfound power, her own transformation, Limit Break, as Vegetto had called it. A fitting name, considering that Videl had constantly hovered at the limit of human potential stretching it, even as she could not break it. Vegetto had told them that this was a logical consequence of Videl living alongside the Z Senshi and her determination to grow stronger. Gohan thought he had detected a bit of admiration in Vegetto's strange voice as he had said so. Of course, he knew that Goku would have admired her strength of will and her determination and Vegeta, well, he, too could respect the sheer force of will Videl had put into the training.

He closed his eyes a moment and sighed softly. A part of him still wished all of this had not happened. A selfish part had often wished that Jari had never landed on Earth, had never found Vegetto and her allies, but of course, that was just a small selfish voice which he subdued every time it came up.

Just as he mellowed in memories a bit more, he detected three guards approaching their cells. They had so far not questioned them, nor tried to hurt them in any real way. This was kind of strange. He would have thought they would ask all kinds of questions, but apparently they were happy with the blood samples they had taken. Of course, Gohan also knew that they would detect their Sayan ancestry and he wondered how they would take that. Probably, they would know soon enough.

One guard stepped in front of his cell and looked at him with a face drawn into an ugly mask of dislike.

"Sayan's eh? HALF-Sayan's even. Whoever would even THINK about breeding with you…well, we shall find out, shan't we?" he spoke in a low sneer and then nodded to his left, Gohan's right. Gohan blinkd and got up slowly. That was Pan's cell.

"What do you want?" he asked, calming his voice.

"I want you to tell me on which Planet you were born and who commited this crime of breeding with a Sayan. Their ID registration Numbers. If you comply nicely, we will only collar the three of you and serve justice to your parents. Otherwise…"

He nodded again to his left and the two other guards dragged Pan into sight. She was trying to fight, but they were holding her by a kind of leash that was coupled to a collar around her neck which he identified as one of the collars Kavri had worn. His eyes narrowed and he was ready to charge at them, but the Guard raised a hand and smiled lightly.

"Ah ah…not only can't you do anything in your weakened state, but if you do try something, we will blast her pretty little head off, won't we? So, be a good boy and tell us what we want to know."

Gohan kept his anger in check, turning to gaze at the guard again.

"I can't tell you any ID. My parents are from Earth, a planet in the Southern galaxy." he said.

"Mh, what a convinient little lie. We know for a fact there are no Sayan's left, except those in service to the King. Stop lying, or I will have to use harsher methods of persuasion." The guard said and inclined his head slightly.

At that point, pan suddenly gasped, her eyes screwed tightly shut. It was clear she was trying not to scream. Obviously, the guards were using the Pain Collar on her.

"Stop it!" he yelled.

"Then tell me what I want to know." the Guard said, nodding for the others to stop.

"I can't. I am telling the truth. We are from Earth!" Gohan said again, still keeping his temper in check. He knew that one flick of the thumb from hese guards would kill his daughter.

"I would have thought you had a little more sympathy for your daughter half-breed. But apparently your Sayan blood has already made you into a monster without feelings. Go on."

The two guards grinned evilly and, one holding the leash and making sure Pan got a dosage of pain every now and then, the other ventured forward, took hold of her arms and ripped the fabric of Pan's clothing apart. Gohan's eyes narrowed even more, he could barely contain his anger anymore. He began to charge up his energies, but he knew he would need a bit to get anywhere close to he point of breaking free.

"Tell us what we want to know, and we won't continue." The Guard said again.

"I…can't…tell you!" Gohan cursed. "Let her go, please!"

The guard shook his head and chuckled as the two continued to have their way with Pan. Pan's bra was ripped away much the same way as her clothing, then her pants. She was now screaming, no longer able to hide her pain and her fear. Tears streamed down her cheeks, tears of fright and pain as the collar sent wave after wave of agony into her young body.

"Let her go you bastards!" Gohan heard Trunks from his left shout.

"Just tell us already!" the guard replied, but Gohan did not correctly hear them anymore. They were going to humiliate, to rape his little girl in front of his eyes. One was already fooling around with her still small breasts. His anger pulsed inside him, greater than he could remember it ever. The guard shouted something at him, he couldn't hear it. All he could hear was the roar of his Sayan blood pulsing in his veins, pumping the rage and anger through every cell of his body.

They wanted to hurt his child. They wanted to abuse her.

He felt the vibrant energies around him take form, felt the shackles of the prison they were confined it. The control mechanism tried to reign in his energy, but it strained further and further. He could feel the pulses of his heartbeat pounding in his ears as the crackles of energy rippled over his body. The guards, who had been about to begin raping Pan, all of them were shocked, staring at Gohan with disbelief. It was the first guard who reacted fastest, turning to shout something at his underlings, no doubt the order to kill Pan. Gohan raised his arm and a small bolt of chi blasted the control device and the collar from Pan's neck. Still he felt his anger rising.

His gaze fixed on the first guard. He had been willing to hurt a little girl, HIS daughter, just to get someinformation. He had been willing to rape and abuse her. In front of Gohan's eyes! He felt something inside him snap as he looked at the two other guards and Pan, who lay sobbing on the floor. Something like that time when he had fought against Cell.

With a yell of fury, he let go of any self-control. The energies tore out of him, tore through the barrier of the control device as if it wasn't there. He could feel every control system in the prison collapse as it tried to contain his long forgotten, primal energies. A circle of energy formed around him, Trunks and Pan and then quite suddenly extended outwards, smashing everything and anyone in its path to pulp. Buildings were torn apart, leveled to the ground, people disintegrated as Gohan's rage manifested. The wavefront of energy did not stop, did not collapse, growing bigger and bigger until it encompassed almost half the planet. When it finally stopped and vanished, the dust began to settle over the destroyed city, the destroyed landscape of one half of the world. What had once been a continent full of cities and governmental installations was now nothing but a dead and broken desert.

**/ In Space – In pursuit of Defenders of Earth /**

Taris looked up, narowing his eyes slightly. He was dining with his daughter and she, too, perked up her ears and looked around, sniffing the air lightly. He knew what she was trying to identify. A huge source of energy had suddenly sprung to life, but very far away. The fact that Taris and his child could still feel it was astounding for one and the other thin was that the source of energy was somewhere in the direction of his Empire. Someone very powerful had just awoken his energies inside his Empire. And as the energy lingered for a moment, Taris knew for a fact, that it was Sayan energy.

**/ In Space – Spaceship of Defenders /**

Vegetto was training with Kavri when they both felt the enormous amount of energy being released somewhere. Kavri looked at Vegetto for a moment, raising a brow. He knew this was Sayan energy, but he also knew that it couldn't be one of the collared Sayan's. Vegetto nodded slightly, as if to confirm his thought. That had to be Gohan. Vegetto didn't look surprised, but concerned.

"He's found his true power again." he said quietly.

"You don't sound too happy." Kavri nodded as well, guessing why that didn't make Vegetto too happy.

"Something really bad must have happened to trigger this. I just hope…that they are all safe."

**/ Garintsu – Spaceport /**

Trunks carried Gohan into their ship at the Spaceport. They had used the confusion to get through controls undetected. Gohan had collapsed after what he had done and no wonder. Trunks was still amazed at the feat he had done. Pan had come along, having found her courage and strength again after seeing her father collapse. She had changed quickly upon arrival while Trunks was preparing for departure. The entire planet was still in an uproar about what happened. Trunks was just glad that the Spaceport had been on the other half of the planet, or their ship would have been destroyed in Gohan's outburst. The ship left Garintsu with maximal propulsion, leaving behind the destruction they had caused and the near desaster they had been subjected to. Pan remained by her father's side, who was asleep in one of the beds. Trunks joined her after having set the autopilot to another likely planet. They still had a job, but Trunks set the course for a planet which was not that close so they had time to deal with the things which had happened.

"Are you OK?" Trunks asked carefully as he stepped beside Pan.

She looked up slowly and gave him a weak nod. She was still very shaken, and no wonder. The amounts of pain this collar could dish out had been described by Bulma in great detail and then there was the matter of these two bastards trying to do her.

She reached for his hand and he squeezed it lightly as she leaned against him, watching her father sleep. There was not much he could say or do besides stand next to her and offer some quiet support after the ordeal she had been through. Trunks determination to get through this alive hadn't changed one bit, but now he swore that he would see an end tothis regime. They had made the mistake of messing with a royal Sayajin. He would make sure they paid for that mistake.

**/ In Space – In pursuit of Defenders of Earth /**

Taris read the mail which had just been sent by his staff back on Taris Prime. Apparently one of the outward colony worlds, Garintsu, had been subject to the visit of a Sayan. His people were spreading the disinformation that it had been a fatal malfunction in one of the reactor cores for energy production, but they knew for a fact that the energy had originated in the Prison complex where new arrivals had been questioned at that time. The blood samples from these newcomers had arrived on Taris Prime only after the explosion and were confirmed to be half and quarter Sayan. He snarled slightly. So these Defenders were not just letting him chase them, they were also sending some of their own into his territory to…to do what? He furrowed his brow and inclined his head slightly. To spread dissent. Well that was a rather hopeless ordeal and he knew that Kavri would have told them so. So what then? What would they want with someone in his Empire? The only thing likely was that they were trying to contact support somehow. The only possible target for something like that would be the remaining Sayans under his control. Somehow they had been able to free Kavri from the collar, so they could free others. The remaining Sayan's were all not as strong as Kavri, so he didn't really fear their additional numbers, but he would very much hate to lose such disciplined troops and the chaos that could result in his Empire was also nothing he wanted to deal with.

"Sirania."

His daughter rose from her place at the bed and approached him slowly, coming to a halt behind him.

"Yes father?" she whispered.

"I want you to go after these intruders. Find out who the one is that has control over so much power. If this Vegetto sent him away from the main troops, maybe he is not that pleased, knowing the Sayan lust for battle. Maybe he can be pursuaded."

He pointed at the screen where a picture of the three intruders was visible. Sirania gazed at the screen wit unblinking eyes, then smiled slowly, licking her lips.

"Can I play with him?" she asked eagerly.

"If he agrees to join us, you can take him up as your plaything, but only kill him if he refuses to join. If his lust for battle is as great as his power, he will probably be dissatisfied with his assignment, so maybe your chances are good."

She nodded and leaned forward to place a light kiss on her fathers cheek.

"Thank you father. I will have my fun with him."


	14. Past, Present, Future?

**Chapter 14**  
Past, Present, Future? 

„_The History of the Saya-jin,  
__is not well recorded. Of course  
__that is mainly due to the  
__destruction of their home world.  
__what little we know today  
__comes directly from the King  
__himself."_

_- Modern History of the Galaxy_

**/ Earth Defender's Space Ship, In Space /**

"Mh, well I'm glad you're all OK." Vegetto mused, his gaze fixed on the screen where an image of Trunks was shown, static distorting the man's features from time to time. At this range, communication was not that good, but well enough for this message to carry through.

"Is he still sleeping then?"

Trunks nodded, looking beside him for a moment.

"He hasn't spoken about it yet, but you can notice a change in him. It's difficult to describe, but it's…its something you feel. His **chi** is still the same, but it's not. I know this makes little sense, but I can't describe it otherwise."

Vegetto nodded again and inclined his head. He knew what Trunks was talking about. He had felt it when Gohan's rage had exploded. There was indeed a change. It was not the same man in some ways, not the same Gohan that had set out from Earth. Of course, Vegetto had known then and there that he would have to change in order to survive this war, but he hadn't thought it would happen so soon into the conflict and it troubled him a little.

"Well, keep me updated. What are your plans now?" he asked finally.

"Well, Gohan asked us, before he went to sleep, to set course for another planet in Tarisian space. He intends to continue the efforts, but be more careful about it. That also means it will take longer to get results, but at least we won't risk more than we have to." He shuddered slightly and Vegetto thought he knew what the sudden discomfort was about.

"All right." he said. "Proceed then. Ask Gohan to contact me as soon as there is anything new to report."

Trunks nodded on the screen and a moment later, the image dissolved and was replaced by static. Vegetto leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling for a moment.

"Arrival on the next battlefield?" he asked.

"Less than 12 hours." Kavri responded from the bridge's centre seat where he had remained while Vegetto had spoken to Trunks.

"Taris is approximately 14 hours behind us, so we have enough to time to prepare. I've already mapped the more likely occasions for ambushes", he continued as Vegetto stood up and wandered to his side, looking at the screen where Kavri had now pulled up the map of the planet they were about to visit.

"Hmmm…Ice World, eh?" Vegetto chuckled softly. "The kid's all have to dress warmly, or their mothers will have my head."

Kavri looked at him a moment, then chuckled as well, shaking his head.

"In any case, judging from their performance last time, they will do very well on this world."

He once again looked at the monitor, and then back to Vegetto, who gazed into nothingness thoughtfully. At that moment Ssiti walked onto the bridge. Kavri turned slightly, his gaze warming considerably as he laid eyes on his wife. She smiled a soft little smile as she approached the two warriors, coming to a halt beside her husband and putting a hand on his arm.

"They are all as ready as can be I would say." She said, looking to Vegetto.

He remained quiet for a moment, then seemed to snap out of his reverie and turned to look at Ssiti quietly. Kavri's wife had, since she had come on board, become something of a counsellor, ship administrator, Operations officer and mother for everyone involved. She had taken naturally to all those things, being there for people when they needed someone, operating the ship when they were in travel, coordinating their fighting efforts, and still found time to be a good mother-figure for Arisa as well. Speaking of witch, the shy Sayan girl had entered with Ssiti, but again, she was so good at not being noticed that Vegetto, not alert as he was, only now noticed her small but powerful frame.

Arisa had warmed up considerably and Ssiti had told Vegetto that she thought her to be ready for training soon. That was good, since they would need every fighting hand they could muster and since they didn't have the Room of Spirit and Time here, they would have to do with normal training. Of course, Arisa was a special case, in that she was already cybernetically and genetically altered to be stronger, tougher and generally more powerful than normal Saya-jin. That would give her an edge if and when she would see combat, but Vegetto was reluctant to let her enter the fighting too soon. She was one of the few female Saya-jin left alive and if his plan to restore the Sayan race was to succeed they would need every female they could get.

"Thank you Ssiti." he finally said and smiled a soft smile. "It's good to know they are in such good hands with you."

Kavri smiled a soft smile at that. He knew of course that this, particularly the motherly part, was everything Ssiti had wanted and could not have gotten on her home world. Her race and Sayan's couldn't produce offspring, and yet Kavri knew, that despite her deep love for him, she had longed for a child for a considerable time now. He was glad she could find her fulfilment in this, being a mother for Arisa and for everyone who needed her.

"Is that our destination?" she asked, pointing at the monitor where the blue world now was clearly visible.

"Yes." Vegetto nodded lightly and got up.

"Doesn't look very inviting." Arisa commented quietly, which ellicited a short, surprised look from Kavri and Vegetto, but Ssiti smiled and nodded.

"And we'll make sure that Taris and his goons will think the same once they arrive."

* * *

Once again they were divided into pairs and sent off to the locations around the world where they would wait for the right time to strike, to ambush their pursuers. Vegetto and Kavri had only made one change and now Videl and C18 were out together, while Bra was along with Goten. So they had sent the fighters out early, allowing them time to prepare for the coming fight. 

Vegetto and Kavri remained in the ship for the time being, watching the progress of the teams in the command center. Once again, they would intervene where necessary, but otherwise leave the young ones to fight for themselves.

"They are coming." Kavri said quietly as the ship of Taris approached and quickly descended through the atmosphere, landing on the other side of the planet. A good thing for them and after all, they could use all the good things they could lay their hands on.

"Will he change his tactics?" Vegetto asked.

Kavri shook his head and chuckled faintly.

"If I'm any judge, he will still believe the fault lies with the 1st Circle alone and he will persuade them to believe the same. He'll be furious and they will fear his fury. The only thing he might change is that he possibly will go along with the others sooner this time."

Vegetto nodded.

"We'll keep a close eye on him. If he gets too close to any of the others, we need to redirect them so they can avoid him."

Kavri nodded in agreement. As he did, Ssiti calmly announced that their enemies were now leaving their ship and spreading out over the planets surface. She had dutifully tagged Taris' marker on the map already. It didn't take long for the first battle to break out.

"C18 and Videl." Ssiti said quietly. "Engaged with a group of 6 Soldiers and Thiroan."

After a short pause, she spoke again.

"Corrected readings coming in. It's Thiroan plus Garida!"

Kavri spun on his heels, ready to leap out already, but Vegetto put a hand on his shoulder.

"No…I'll manage this. You keep track of things here and warn me if the King makes a move."

Kavri nodded while Ssiti already spoke quiet instructions to C18 into her headset.

C18 was hurled backward by the impact of an energy sphere exploding directly in front of her. She whirled to a halt, cursing beneath her breath. Apparently the enemy had shifted tactics and apart from 6 soldiers, her and Videl were up against two 1st Circle warriors. She briefly looked to the side, seeing the eerie red glow that signalled Videl who was trying to hold off the six soldiers at once.

Her brief flick of attention almost cost her dearly as she realized that one of the 1st Circles, Thiroan if she remembered correctly came at her with immense speed. She swayed to the side, avoiding a harsh kick and immediately was put into the defense, unable to do anything besides protecting herself from the vast flurry of strikes which came at her mercilessly.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the other, the female one approach, almost lazily. She knew this one for the energy thief, so her energy attacks would be useless, but the woman drew power together now, obviously using C18's situation to try and blast her.

She never got the chance.

C18 didn't see exactly what happened, but one moment the woman was forming a sphere of bright white energy, the next she was flung forward by a considerable force, all energy dissipating. Videl?

Thiroan obviously noticed the distraction as well and allowed it to distract him in turn. C18 used that moment and drove her foot forward. One harsh kick connected and others followed swiftly. She couldn't do much damage, but at least he was on the defense for the moment.

A blinding flash of bright golden light and the man was torn from in front of her, tossed aside by the impact of a huge energy sphere, seemingly coming out of nowhere. The next moment, Vegetto hovered calmly beside C18.

"I thought you could use some help against two of those." He said with a wink.

C18 raised a brow, but then nodded, feeling how she had already exhausted herself just fighting against these two for such a brief time.

"Vegetto, King incoming. He'll be there any moment!" C18 heard Kavri's voice from Vegetto's headset. The tall warrior nodded to C18 and winked, almost playfully.

"Go help Videl against those 6. I'll take care of the rest."

A part of her wanted to protest against being sent away, but she knew Videl needed help and she also knew she couldn't really help Vegetto. She hesitated only a moment, but then nodded, dashing away towards Videl as quick as she could.

"Now I have you." Taris said with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Your pathetic bunch is still caught up with my warriors and I know you would never leave any one of them behind. You'll stay as long as there is fighting and I can promise you there will be lots of fighting."

Vegetto remained calm, speaking to Kavri via their link.

"Kavri, recall all fighters. We have to leave sooner than we thought. Prepare for emergency jump."

"That won't help you!" the King spat. "You've insulted me often enough. It's time you pay!"

This time he didn't waste any ore words and rushed forward. Vegetto was ready, meeting the King in mid-air. Where their arms met, a thunderous boom spread out to all sides and power crackled through the air, lancing off in arcs of lightning in all directions. For a moment, the two were locked like this, fierce turquoise gazing into burning red.

They separated again, only to meet a millisecond later, this time in a flurry of fists and feet, striking, blocking, dodging, countering. One moment they fought, the next one of them would leap back, sending a salvo of energy at the opponent. Furious explosions covered the sky, echoes of these fighters clashing resounded for miles and miles. The ground trembled even though they were high in the air. This time, there was no holding back for Vegetto.

* * *

Kavri ground his teeth as he watched their progress. They were to slow, burn them all. The pairs returned the fastest way possible and Ssiti saw to it that they would all arrive at the same time. But that would still be a few minutes away. A few minutes too much, considering Vegetto's situation. Already he had taken several harsh blows by the King and had barely succeeded in bloodying the King. 

"2 Minutes!" Ssiti announced.

"I'll go and help!" Kavri said and stormed towards the door. He didn't even hear Ssiti's protest, the first she had ever made to him like that.

Vegetto cursed only beneath his breath as he crossed his arms in front of him to block an incoming flurry of energy missiles. Strength drained out of him. He knew that was in part the doing of that energy leech still around, but a good bit also came from the sheer ferocity of the fight against Taris. Thiroan apparently did not dare to intervene, but Garida had no such qualms. She sucked his energy away and he felt himself grow weaker with every passing second. Already several wounds were visible on his body, bleeding freely.

Taris came at him again and he barely managed to keep his defense up now.

"Already over? Already so weak. You disappoint me!" he snarled and slammed his fist straight into Vegetto's gut. He doubled over, then groaned as Taris elbow smashed into his back, slamming him down into the ground, rocks splitting beneath him. Taris launched himself up and pointed a hand at him. Vegetto got up weakly onto one knee, coughing up blood.

Damn energy leech. Without her he could have lasted longer.

_That's not the way a Sayan thinks! _His mind raged at him.

He snarled, looking up and threw his hands up, summoning his energies to throw a stream at Taris just as he released his own wave of energy. The two rays collided between them and for a moment the world around them was all ablaze with the energy released. But Taris was not subject to en energy thief and thus, his powerful beam pushed back Vegetto's own gradually but surely.

"Launch in progress, we're on our way!" Ssiti's voice echoed in his ear and a soft smile played over his features.

"Got you again…" he muttered as he faltered and the energy faded from his hands. The last thing he heard was Taris' triumphant cry. The last thing he saw, was a silhouette against the incoming energy.

**  
/ Earth Defender Ship – Medical /**

Jari had come to the medical bay as soon as she had had a brief nap aftr her own injuries had been treated, light as they had been. She had been worried sick, but now that she looked into the medical tank, she knew Vegetto would be up in no time. Ssiti had commented on the good progress he was making so quickly, with a sidelong glance at Kavri who just shrugged and grinned faintly.

But since then, three days ago, Jari had refused to leave the medical bay. She was half devastated when she had seen how broken and battered he had been after the fight. She had heard from Kavri, the one who had gotten Vegetto out of there, just in time, that his quick defeat had been largely due to the neregy leeching woman who had helped Taris, without him even realizing it. She cursed lightly, imagining Taris now looking so smug. Then again, maybe Kavri saving Vegetto had wiped that smug grin away just as quick as it would have come.

Why exactly she spent every waking hor here, she didn't know. She just felt a tight connection to Vegetto, probably because he had been the one to give her hope again. He had been the one to take her in, train her in ways she had thought impossible. She felt attached to him and it was a good feeling. Like she felt attached to Chira, but different. Chira was wonderful and she enjoyed every minute the two of them spent sparring, talking, laughing or playing. But with Vegetto it was something different.

Exactly what it was, she didn't know, but she was sure it would all sort itself out anyway. For now, she was determined to remain here in this room, until Vegetto would wake up.

It was then that she noticed the hectic flickering of lights on the monitoring console.

* * *

Vegetto dreamt. 

Suspended in the thick blue-green liquid of the medi-tank, his powerful body hung motionless, his eyes pressed close. The wounds he had suffered in the fight against Taris had all but healed already, but his spirit was not yet ready to wake up.

Before his minds eye, he could see the vast landscapes, rocky and barren now, then covered with rich green grass and towering trees, that he instinctively knew to be his home, Vegeta-sei. Although even Vegeta's memory of Vegeta-sei was different, Vegetto knew for a fact, this must be the home world of the Sayan race.

He saw the vicious creatures roaming the plains or prowling the forests, predators hunting for prey. He saw the first Saya-jin, hunting, fighting the predators for survival. He saw dozens, hundreds die for just enough to survive and continue. He saw them change from the crude savages that barely survived, to strong, formidable hunters, predators in their own right.

He watched as they began to build cities, conquer the world that had given birth to them, rejoice in the fighting until no beast could offer a challenge. He watched still as they found ways to manipulate the chi in their bodies, watched as they struggled to reach the stars, to find new challenges.

He was present at their first, meeting with Freezer, the killing of their King, the forcing into service. He saw his people decay into killing machines on the leash of that monster, their annihilation of entire species and slowly their turn to rejoicing in that.

He saw the spark of rebellion in Vegeta's mind, saw Bardock's defiance, witnessed again Kakarott growing into the first Super-Sayajin and his defeat of Freezer.

The images changed faster now, the androids, Cell, Boo, the stages of the Saya-jin, the past, present and then…

The images collapsed in his mind, exploding into thousands of bright shards and then formed the new image of a Great Monkey, but this one with golden fur, bristling with charged power.

His mind tumbled into the abyss of rage that erupted from his people's turbulent past and he had to fight hard to hold onto the pieces of his own mind, his sanity, to remain focussed on the here and now.

The image bristled, energy seeming to seep into it from the strength of his thoughts, his combined mind fighting to keep in control as the giant monkey rampaged through his head.

Slowly, the struggle ceased and the energy flowed into the monkey's form. The shape began to change, becoming smaller. A searing light erupted from the shape, blinding Vegetto for a moment.

When the light receded, he could make out the image of a man, himself, but changed. Silver-white fur bristled on the figures upper body, the remaining visible skin dark, burnt by an unmerciful sun. Black hair with a blueish tint was a spiky mass on his head, framing hard-set features, his own, but wilder, with narrowed, golden eyes surrounded by a thin, silvery line.

Realization struck Vegetto as he looked into the eyes of that Vegetto. They had been blind not to see it. Of course, how could they have suspected, nothing had ever told of anything like this. For every stage of the Super Sayan transformation, the changes had been more drastic. First only a change of colour, then the increase of hair and vanishing of eyebrows. Every level had taken them further away from their original appearance, but not further away from the 'original'. In truth, the path of the Super Saya-jin was a path backwards, a path back to the True Saya-jin.

This was what they had once been. His heart raced with joy at the realization. He could feel the untainted power of his ancestry now, the unstained power of that true, original form and he ached to truly immerse himself in it. This was his destiny and the destiny of every Saya-jin still alive.

* * *

"His readings are going off the scale. Something is happening, but I cant make any sense of it. His medical readouts are OK and everything indicates he is asleep, but there's too much activity in his brain." Ssiti was at the monitoring station. Jari had alarmed them of the fluctuations only moments earlier, though why Jari had been here, Kavri still didn't know. Well, now they didn't have just fluctuations. Everything was going haywire. He stood beside Ssiti, watching the medi-tank with a mixed expression of worry and awe. 

"The power levels are surging. If this keeps up, he'll blow the ship to bits, and us right along with it. There's no way the tank could contain this much power."

"He wouldn't do that!" Jari exclaimed, though her features betrayed her worries as she stared at the tank anxiously.

Light flared from every small crack in the medi-tank suddenly, the floor beneath them, the entire ship began to rumble.

"This is insane!" Kavri gasped. "No one can hold so much power without burning to cinders if he tries to contain it. We have to get him out of here before he releases it!"

But he knew they couldn't and even if there had been a way, it was too late now. The light of power now filled the entire room, blinding them all. It was only seconds before the inevitable would happen.

Time seemed to freeze then, everything suspended all of a sudden. Kavri saw a shape appear in the bright light, but found a blackness creeping into his mind that slowly but surely overwhelmed him until he felt nothingness up close.

* * *

Around him were the charred remains of the medi-tank. He felt a brief wave of panic, realizing that he had unwillingly released all his power and felt sure that this must have destroyed everything around him and everyone. But the medical bay was otherwise unharmed, although eerily silence. Still fighting to fully wake from his dream, his vision, he glanced around, seeing Ssiti, Kavri and Jari standing in the room, motionless, not moving an inch and all of them looking rather shocked and afraid. They were bathed in a strange, blue glow and Vegetto felt a moment of puzzlement flow over him before his gaze settled on the last figure in the room, the obvious reason for this situation. The Kaioshin stood in front of him, smiling his ever serene smile. 

"You would have created quite a mess here Vegetto."

That forced a sheepish grin onto his features, a habit of Goku which was hard to get rid of. Then again, he didn't really want to get rid of that.

"Ah, but I see you arrived in time to prevent it."

The Kaioshin chuckled and shrugged.

"Contain is the better term for it. I had years to prepare myself for such an occasion. Who could know where it would finally happen?"

Vegetto blinked, then inclined his head, studying the Kaioshin closely.

"You KNEW this would happen?" he asked.

"I hoped. When I gave you the Potara's, the immediate goal was of course, to defeat Boo, yet the long-term goal was to prepare you, the Saya-jin for this."

Vegetto was slightly confused about these words, until he glanced down himself and only now realized that he no longer appeared as the person he was, but as that man in his vision. However, this only added to his confusion, and as though the Kaioshin sensed that, he continued.

"The Kaioshin have, since time beginning, watched the mortals. It is our duty to try and keep a certain balance in all things and we only ever acted when that balance was in danger. It has been known to us that at one point, a war would come that could ultimately ruin the balance." He sighed softly and shook his head.

"Don't you think it a bit strange that, always when you successfully vanquished evil, a new evil would be born, more powerful than the last? The universe, you see, is all about balance and it doesn't like one side growing too powerful like that. There is a counter for everything, everything has a good and a bad side. So, when one side does win the upper hand, the other must grow stronger to counter that."

Vegetto took a moment to ponder this, watching the Kaioshin thoughtfully.

"So Freezer, Cell, they were all part of this balance? You, or your counterpart are responsible for all these beings?"

The Kaioshin shook his head slightly.

"It's not as easy as that and not all of them have something to do with this. The war of which I spoke earlier only began when the balance was truly upset, when one side went too far. Think, Vegetto, at which point did your struggle stop being one for your world and become a struggle for the survival of the universe as a whole?"

"Boo…" Vegetto muttered quietly and the Kaioshin nodded.

"Some of you mortals meddle too much, always have been, but it has never been worse than this. At one point in history we had a similar situation, but Broly was merely a Saya-jin with an exceptional power level. However, some of you mortals created Boo and in doing that, they upset the balance terribly and this couldn't be easily corrected. Although Boo was destroyed, the seeds of this evil act remain and the other side has gained too much power, hence this situation. That is the second reason why I gave you the Potara's."

"But why me?" Vegetto asked. "All right, Goku and Vegeta were strong, but I can't imagine that was your only reason, especially not if you had us in mind for something else."

"Because you are the strongest survivors of a race that was among the strongest of the universe. They were, in their glory days, a powerful tool to right the balance and before they tumbled into decadence, they were the front-line warriors of Balance, regardless of the side."

"Tools?" Vegetto asked, not keeping the edge out of his words.

"That is simply a term Vegetto. You must understand that Balance is something greater, something larger than you or me, or a world, or a galaxy. It is the essence of everything and for it, I, too am just a tool. A figure on the chess-board if you will. In any case, I gave you the Potara's so that you could find back to the strength your people once possessed, to your roots and now you have. With you, the other Saya-jin will once again find their true selves."

Even though Vegetto was still unsettled that Sayans had been a tool in the past, before Freezer, he felt a jolt of pride, thinking of his race restored to what they had been. To their full strength.

"And you came here just to tell me this?" he asked after a moment.

"That, and to give you another set of Potara's."

The Kaioshin extended a hand in which two of the earrings lay which had called Vegetto into being.

"Even with the danger at hand I don't know if I would want anyone to suffer as I an my families have." he said slowly.

"I know what you mean, but it might prove vital to success. The enemy has another weapon, one he hasn't revealed yet. You can guess who it is, you have already once used her against him, but that will only make her a more deadly adversary. Maybe you will do without the Potara's, but it would be better to have them, just in case."

Vegetto hesitated for another moment, but then took the Potara's quietly, staring at them for a long while.

"I don't know if I should thank you or hate you for what you did and for what you are still doing." he said, his gaze returning to the Kaioshin.

"I shouldn't care, but to be honest with you I tried to help you to the best of my abilities and within the limits of my position. I tried to do what I had to without causing more pain than necessary. I might not have succeeded in your eyes, for which I am truly sorry, but I, like you, am a slave to destiny and can only do what I have to."

Vegetto nodded slightly, his hand closing around the Potara's.

"I believe you Kaioshin. And for what help you gave us, I am grateful."

The Kaioshin smiled softly and nodded lightly. He looked around, then back to Vegetto once more.

"I hope it all turns out better than you or I think…" he said quietly before he vanished on the spot.

Vegetto only had a short moment of quiet to contemplate the words of the Kaioshin. Then time unfroze and Ssiti, Kavri and Jari all stared at him. They looked confused, still worried, but relieved at the same time. Once more, he looked down at himself, then up again, his gaze flicking to Kavri.

"Would you fetch me a pair of pants, please?"


	15. The Greatest Sacrifice

**Chapter 15**  
The Greatest Sacrifice 

"_Every war causes suffering,  
__every battle causes loss.  
__This war would not be different,  
__but as always, it hit us hard  
__when it finally came to it."  
_

_- King Vegetto  
_"_Memories of a Warrior"_

**/ Approaching Planet TE – 2376 /**

Gohan had barely had time to recover from the ordeal on the last world, but then again, he suspected that none of them would have much time to rest in times of war. When he had woken up, he could still feel the power, long thought forgotten, ready inside him. It felt good, and bad at the same time. He had dedicated his life to be a scholar and for a while he had been able to live that life happily. Of course, in his heart he had always known it would not be peaceful forever. His Sayan blood was still there and sometimes it would call to him, making him remember the days when he had fought side by side with the other fighters. Yet as the years had passed, these calls had grown weaker as he himself had left behind his former power.

Now it was back. Back along with the duty to fight to protect those he loved and with the power, also came the old Sayan joy in fighting. Of course, it was reigned in, nowhere as strong as in Vegetto, or Kavri, or even Chira. A soft smile tugged at his lips as he thought about his daughter. She had fully inherited the Sayan side of his genes.

On the main viewscreen, the planet which they had chosen to visit next loomed, growing bigger as they approached. They had already received landing clearance and were on autopilot. Trunks and Pan sat next to him, both of them lost in their own thoughts. They had been quiet the last few days of their journey and Gohan suspected it had something to do with the talk the two of them had had a few days prior to that. Still, he would not intrude on their privacy for now. They wore the garbs of merchants again. The plan had worked well enough last time, until they had let slip that they were interested in Sayans. They couldn't afford to do that again. So this time they would only wait and listen, hope to hear a little something. Gohan had decided to stay for a week, inside which he would do some trading so no one would suspect them of anything.

He would make sure Trunks and Pan would not be harmed, not even touched this time. His eyes narrowed as he remembered the scenes in the prison on the last world. He would never allow anything to happen to his children. His anger flared briefly, though he kept it well under control.

He would not let harm come to them.

**/ Planet TE – 2376 /**

"I do not care what you do with them, but do not kill or harm them for now. They are more useful as bait when they are alive." Sirania said, giving the guards no second glance as they saluted and turned on the twelve Sayans she had brought along in her ship. They would not dare disobey her. She hadn't presented herself as what she was, no one knew about that yet, but she had a rank and station bestowed on her by her father which allowed for her doing as she pleased and ordering the soldiers as well.

She licked her lips slowly, looking at the screen in the command-centre of the Planetary Defense. The screen was fixed on a small ship, nothing interesting really, a trader, for everyone who just looked at it. But Sirania knew who was on board that ship. That was her prey, her target. She was hungry to see and feel him, that Gohan. Her mouth twisted into an ecstatic grin as she thought of the fun she would have with this one. He looked strong and from the reports she had seen on the incident on the last world, she knew he was exceptionally wild and powerful. The fight would be pure pleasure and what she would do afterwards even more so. Maybe, he could be convinced to come to her without a fight, but she would be disappointed if it came to that. Still, she would try, if only to confirm her belief that he was a warrior worth to be beside her. For a while.

It wouldn't be long now till the ship touched down.

"Captain, have the landing bay secured and remove all people from the area. I don't want to be disturbed."

"M'lady, that is impossible. Traffic in the space-port would be in total disarray…"

He came no further. With a gesture of her hand, lightning fast, she slammed her slender fingers into the mans chest and ripped his heart out right then and there. The others still remaining in the control room stared with mouths open, fear clearly visible in their eyes.

"I do not take well to people questioning my orders. Who would be next in line?" she asked, her voice gentle and sweet. It sounded sickening to any who also saw the still-pulsing heart in her hand, the blood dripping on the floor and the lifeless body of the captain next to her.

"That…w..would be me."

"Good, _Captain_, I trust you will fulfil my orders to the point." She said and, with a sickening smile, clenched her fist, squashing the heart of the former captain to pulp and letting the remains fall on the floor.

"Of curse m'lady!" he hastened to say.

"Good. You should clean up this mess." She said as she turned and walked out of the room, leaving stunned, sweating soldiers behind. On her way out, she sucked the blood from her dripping fingers. Ah, how much better his blood would taste, and how much sweeter still if it was given to her in the throes of passion!

**/ Spaceport, Planet TE – 2376 /**

Gohan had a bad feeling as the ship powered down. Everything around was quiet and he knew from his experiences so far, that it shouldn't be this way. He moved towards the exit hatch, Trunks and Pan following.

"Be at guard." he said quietly. "Something's not right."

He extended his senses, closing his eyes a moment. He felt that the immediate area was empty, no technicians, no dock-workers, nothing. That was certainly odd. Yet, as he was about to withdraw his mind, he felt a tingle at the back of his head, a soft reverbration of power. A power he felt familiar. It was energy he knew by heart.

Sayan energy.

"Sayans…" he breathed quietly.

"What?" Pan said, sounding surprised, but then, like him, closed her eyes and felt for the energies. Trunks did the same and they soon reopened their eyes and nodded.

"There are Sayan's nearby. Not just one." Gohan said quietly. "We have found what we are looking for easier than I thought…"

He shook his head.

"It's too easy. We have to be careful, I suspect this is a trap."

"And in more ways than one, but you should not fret over it. You may come to like the trap."

The voice was female and it came from doorway to the main spaceport. Gohan narrowed his eyes slightly as he descended the ramp from their ship, fixing his gaze steadily on the woman, no, the girl standing there. She was, he thought exotic was the right word to describe her. She was not beautiful in the classical sense, though she had an athletic and slender body with pronounced, female curves, yet the intricate lines on her skin, covering all of the visible skin gave her an otherworldish look. Her hair was spiky, which at first let him believe she would be one of the Sayan's, but he could sense the energy coming from her, not much, but enough to determine that it was not Sayan. Not entirely at least. What disturbed Gohan most about her, were the eyes. These eyes, they were…not human and not only the strange mix of colours that seemed to swirl in them. Anything but human. They were filled with lust, desire, longing when she looked at him, but paired with a vicious and brutal fire. He knew, even now, that this girl had murdered and had enjoyed it, those eyes had seen death and they enjoyed seeing death, worse, she enjoyed being the one who caused it. Not only death, but suffering, pain. Instinctively, Gohan tensed and he felt Trunks and Pan do likewise. Slowly, he descended the ramp, keeping his gaze firmly on the girl.

"And who might you be?" he asked.

The girl giggled. It fitted her body, her appearance, but it didn't fit those eyes. That made the giggle sound sick, twisted.

"I am called Sirania. Though I am not often called that except by my father, the King."

Gohan narrowed his eyes even more and his jaw clenched. This was bad. So it was the daughter of the King himself. Considering the King, she would have great potential and what was worse, she had not only the looks, but the feel of a half-Sayan as well. He was about to say something, but Sirania continued then.

"I have what you are seeking here." She said in a sultry voice, then gestured to one of the cargo-bays to her left. The doors were sliding open, revealing twelve men standing in a perfect line, eyes downcast. If it weren't for the feeling they radiated and for the collar on their necks, Gohan would not have believed them Saya-jin. They were too subdued the way they stood there, too tame, but still, the collar allowed for no doubt.

"I suppose you'll want something if you release them, is that not so?" Gohan said, trying his best to sound calm while he mentally contacted Pan and Trunks. It was a trick he had learned from his father and it came in handy at times like these.

_When I give you the signal, you get to these Sayan's as quickly as you can. Attach the devices Bulma gave us and get them on the ship. Initiate launch immediately. I will keep her busy._ he thought while Sirania was approaching him with a sway to her hips.

"Of course I want something, but it's nothing unreasonable as I'm sure you'll agree." she was saying as she came to halt, only a few inches away from him. He was taller than her by more than a head and she had to crane her neck to meet his gaze but that did not seem to bother her. She smelled of fresh blood.

"I want you to join me." She put an emphasis on 'me'.

"I know you dislike my father and what he does, that is as it may be, but it shouldn't give you reason not to join me. I only saw you once, only felt you once, but you have troubled my sleep ever since. I lie awake dreaming of you and what I can do with you."

She raised a slender hand, fingers, seemingly oh so delicate, but with enough strength in them to crush a mans skull, Gohan knew, traced a line over his chest. He did not move, did not flinch. He stared at her, eyes slightly widened. She couldn't be serious about this.

"You have doubts?" she asked, smiling a sweet smile. Well, it would have been a sweet smile, if her eyes had not made it into a mask of insanity.

"Well, Sirania, I have only met you now. Surely you understand…" he got no further.

"I want you, and I will have you, one way or another. Understand me when I say this. I might release these Sayans, but only because I want to show you a sign of love. Even if you will not accept the trade, I will have you!"

Gohan could think of nothing more to say. This woman was clearly crazy and there would be no talking with her.

_Now!_

Trunks, Pan and Gohan simultaneously sprang to action. Trunks and Pan both darted forward, their aura's suddenly flaring brightly gold while Gohan simply drove his fist into Sirania's stomach as his own aura, cool blue, flashed into existence around him. The girl was sent sprawling backwards and Gohan did not leave her time to recover, dashing after her. He knew he would have to keep her occupied enough to keep her from activating the Pain Collars a while longer. He reached her side in the flash of an eye, whirling around and driving his knee into her back, then slammed his elbow into the back of her head which made her careen off into another direction. Gathering his energies, he directed a ball of blue-white energy from his palm after the hurtling body. Even as it crashed into the wall of the spaceport, the sphere connected and an explosion shook the entire structure, making the wall collapse.

"Done!" Trunks called from their side of the spaceport. Gohan turned briefly and saw him and Pan herding the confused Sayans towards the ship. They were awfully slow, even when Trunks revealed who they were, as if they moved in a state of dazedness.

A melodic laughter made him freeze and then turn his head slowly back to the rubble that had been the wall of the docking bay. Sirania strode out of the debris, a few drops of blood flowing from a cracked lip, but otherwise obviously unharmed. Gohan narrowed his eyes as he locked his gaze on hers. If anything, it was even more crazed. There was more lust in that look, but also murderous intent. It was unimaginable, but the girl was aroused. Not only her eyes, but her entire body showed the signs of it and she did not even attempt to cover it. The fabric of her clothing covering her breasts stood out slightly and she shivered, not from the cold.

"That was amusing. I didn't expect you to come quietly. Really, I hoped you would not. How can I love a man and allow him to use me as I want you to if he is not strong, but you'll have to do better than that. Oh, and they will stay!"

She looked to the Sayans and rested a hand on a small control device on her hip. Gohan did not need to look back to know that nothing had happened. He trusted Bulma to know what she was doing. Sirania stared at the Sayan's still, obviously still expecting something to happen.

"Your collars are useless now. We deactivated them." Gohan said calmly, readying himself to fend her off.

"You're more resourceful than I thought." she said and then grinned a wide, manic grin.

"In that case, I will just have to destroy the entire ship and everyone standing here!" she laughed and spread her arms, energy rippling over her bare skin, dark, blood-red energy which gathered in her hands and began to form a huge ball between her hands.

"Trunks, Pan, hurry!" Gohan shouted and moved a bit to the side, positioning himself directly between Sirania and the ship.

"Don't think this will kill you my little sweets. I can manipulate it well. It will not harm you!"

She was trying to soothe him! He had no more time to shake his head at the craziness of the girl as the ball suddenly leapt from her hands and charged directly at the ship. Narrowing his eyes he extended his arms to both sides and concentrated his own energies, forming them into a shield, encompassing the ship and those still boarding it. Sirania didn't hesitate, hurling the sphere of energy towards the ship. The ball magnified in size once away from her and impacted on the shield. The roar of the two energies clashing filled Gohan's ears as lightning arced away from the sphere, rending into walls and structures, leaving only destruction around them. Gohan felt the onslaught of power on his shield, gasping at the sheer ferocity of the energies involved but his determination did not waver. A low growl escaped his lips as he poured more energy into the shield, driving back the sphere Sirania had created. Slowly but surely, his shield extended and Sirania, standing there, still smiling to herself, flicked a hand in his direction. He felt the sphere increasing its attack, but his shield held.

He risked a glance to the ship. The Sayan's were now all aboard and Trunks and Pan were hurrying towards the entrance, looking in his direction. They were shouting something, but he couldn't understand it.

_Get going!_ he mentally yelled at them and that made them halt, turning and darting for the ship.

Sirania narrowed her eyes slightly and she braced her feet on the ground now, extending her arms towards the sphere. She began to pour more energy into it and Gohan felt the shield buckle gradually. He cursed, snarling as the earth around him began to shake with the energies he was channelling into the barrier. Debris lifted from the ground as his feet drove down into the ground, the earth cracking open where he stood. Such was the intensity of Sirania's attack that he was being driven down into the ground, but still the shield held and did not allow the sphere to press closer. Gohan had another problem in mind now though. The ship was about to lift off and his only chance of escaping this madwoman, of surviving actually, was to get into the ship and now. However, he wouldn't be able to hold onto the shield then and the destructive sphere would surely wipe out the entire ship, along with him. He glanced back briefly and saw the ships thrusters powering up, the small craft gradually lifting into the air. The hatch was still open. For him, Gohan knew, but only one glance at Sirania told him he could not leave. He would have to keep her occupied until the ship was a safe distance away. Uncertainty didn't exist in his mind as his gaze fell back on Sirania and a slow grin spread over his lips. He poured more energy into the shield, the bluish lightning dancing over his skin towards his arms and arcing up towards the dome growing in size and power.

"What is he doing?" Pan shrieked, one hand holding onto the hatch as she leaned out of the entrance to the ship. Even as it slowly ascended, she held on, willing her father to finally turn around. They were safe now! A stubborn little part in her mind knew that they were far from safe as long as they remained on the planet or even in the near vicinity and that part also understood quite clearly what Gohan was doing.

"Father!" she yelled, though she had no hopes of him hearing her plea. The ships engines were running full power now and the destructive power from both fighters created pandemonium around them.

She was about to jump from the hatch when she felt Trunks strong grip on her shoulder. She gazed up, disbelief on her features.

"We have to help him!"

Trunks did not answer, did not even look at her, but his grip was iron. His gaze rested on Gohan's form slowly growing smaller as the ship gained altitude. The tears leaking from his eyes told Pan that he, too knew what her father was doing.

"You know what he plans, you can't let him…we can't leave him behind like this!"

She did not even realize she was crying herself, tears running from her eyes as she struggled, in vain, against Trunks grip.

"Let me go…let me go you bastard! He's going to die if we don't help him!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, tearing at Trunks, even going to Super Sayajin, but he simply changed as well and kept holding her. He was still much stronger than her.

Trunks knew that they could not do anything down there. They would be killed and then all of this would have been for nothing. With tears still falling freely, he watched and held on to Pan, letting her yell at him, letting her curse him and beat him. He did not really register it at all.

Gohan made his move when the ship was high enough not to be caught in the blast wave of the sphere. He leapt up and towards Sirania, the shield collapsing as he did so. The sphere rushed beneath him and exploded on the spot, enveloping most of the spaceport behind him and boring into the ground until nothing but a charred crater remained. Gohan came at Sirania with fury inside him unleashed. His aura flared brighter than ever as he charged at Sirania, who in turn was approaching him, that mad look of lust mixed with fury still painted on her features. They met in mid air, striking and blocking, fists and feet a blur of motion, deafening explosions where they met with energy charged attacks. Gohan lost himself in the feeling of the fight, him and Sirania dancing through the skies in the deadly fight they had begun. He felt the joy of combat returning to him as he met strike after strike of her, dodging, blocking, counterattacking. Nothing mattered now except the battle at hand. Pan, Trunks and the Saya-jin were getting away and every second this fight lasted, they would have more distance between them and the planet. Even after the initial blows had been exchanged, Gohan knew he had only a slim chance of beating Sirania. Her strength was fearsome, her energy reservoirs staggering. But he relished in that. Unlike his father he had not always pursued the road of the warrior, but now that he was back on it, he felt the thrill of a strong opponent.

Sirania charged back, threw her hands forward, a volley of missiles leaving her palms. Gohan moved too fast for any normal person to see as he wove a way through the missiles until he was up in front of her. Her hands smashed down, blocking the strike of his knee, whirling, his foot made a high arc even as Sirania turned herself, one hand coming up and blocking the strike, but even then Gohan pushed forward, fist striking towards her unprotected middle. She grunted as his fist drove into her stomach. Her defence temporarily shattered, Gohan followed in, his other fist striking at her chin, sending her spiralling backwards. He managed to land another series of strikes before Sirania grabbed a hold of his foot and whirled him around sending him flying towards the ground.

Gohan flipped just before he hit the ground, landing on his feet. He gathered energy in his hands even as Sirania charged after him.

"Ka…Me…" The sphere of energy appeared in his hands, growing quickly in size. Sirania ignored it, coming towards him.

"Ha…Me…."

Squeezing all the energy he could find into this one attack was risky, but he knew that he could not survive a prolonged fight. It was his only hope to disable her with one blow. He locked his eyes on hers as she approached and thrust his arms forward.

"HA!"

With his yell, the energies were released, rushing towards Sirania. She had no chance to dodge, flying head-on into the deadly beam of energy. She was able to throw up her hands in defence before she was swept away backwards as the waves of energy washed over her. Gohan kept the power flowing even as the beam slammed Sirania into and through a wall, continuing to cut a path of destruction through the starport and beyond.

When the beam finally dissipated, Gohan let his arms sink slowly, breathing deeply. He had spent most of his power on this one attack and he hoped it had been enough to knock out Sirania. Slowly, he stood upright, looking along the path his attack had created. In the distance, he could see the heap of rubble at the end and he began walking towards it. He had to make sure.

Sirania slowly blinked her eyes open. Something entirely new to her had happened. She had been hurt. She felt warm blood trickle down her side from a wound in her side and felt the ache of several injuries on her body. It was a strange sensation, one she had not ever felt before. She had been hit by her father once, but that was not the same. Her father loved her and he would never seriously hurt her, not like this. Looking up, she saw that she was buried in a pile of rubble from the attack. So strong. The energy had been so strong. She felt her lust returning, washing away the pain. He'd have to pay for seriously harming her, but after that, she would have long hours of fun with him.

Gohan stopped in his approach. He felt energy gathering in the small pile of rubble ahead and shook his head. It had not been enough. He probably had hurt her, but not nearly enough. He sighed, almost to himself and looked up. They were long gone now, safe for the time being. He had fulfilled what had to be done and there was no fleeing now. Sirania burst out of the rubble, scratched and wounded in several places, but she didn't seem much weaker than before.

"You really hurt me." she whispered dangerously.

Gohan chuckled weakly and shook his head.

"Not enough it seems. You're still alive and that means I'm soon to be dead. But I got what I wanted. My friends are safely away and you have no chance to intercept them in time."

Sirania narrowed her eyes then grinned fiercely.

"True, your friends got away, but that won't help them much. My father will kill them all in the end. That is of no consequence to us however, is it? If you think I'll kill you now, you're mistaken. I will make sure you live long…You'll be mine!"

Gohan widened his eyes, but only for a moment. The next, she was on him, her fist driving into his ribs, breaking them as he was pushed back. As the onslaught continued, he could barely defend himself, taking hit after hit, feeling his power draining, even what little remained of it. He couldn't be beaten this easily!

The thought flashed through his mind and that gave him strength again. His Sayan rage fuelling his survival instincts, he began fighting back again, but Sirania just grinned even as he pushed her back again.

She suddenly vanished in front of his eyes and reappeared behind him. Before he could react he heard a faint clicking sound and felt something against the skin of his neck. He whirled to strike back at Sirania, but she simply danced out of his reach and then pain crashed over him, so unimaginable that he thought his eyes would pop out. Every cell in his body seemed to be on fire as he sank to his knees and Sirania simply stood there, grinning smugly. Through the haze of pain and torture the Pain Collar was putting him, he could dimly make out Sirania's words as she bent over him and kissed him on his forehead.

"Don't worry Gohan. You will die, but I will have long hours of fun before you do…oh yes, we will have our fun!"

Already a good distance away from he planet, Pan gasped with shock, reeling back from the monitor on which she had been staring at the place where they had left her father.

"No…no..:" she clutched at her head, shaking it as tears began to leak from her eyes anew.

Trunks knew and felt the same kind of sadness, the urge to scream out his fury, but he controlled it, barely. He could no longer sense Gohan either. His power had simply vanished from one moment to the other. Still close enough to the planet, their keen senses should be able to pick up even the faintest sign of power from him.

The only way to explain it was simple.

Gohan was dead.


	16. Break the Limit

Author's Note: Chapter 16 for all of you who have called for it. I'm unhappy with my own speed at updating, but sadly I don't have the time to finish chapters earlier if I want them to be any good.I hope you appreciate that, instead of quantity, you get the quality you deserve. Now, enjoy reading. ;)

**Chapter 16**  
_Break the Limit_

_ „…and when her fury is_  
_unleashed, the world  
will tremble to the core."_

_- Prophecies of Anko'dar  
anonymous translation_

The blizzard was raging still, even after 15 hours which they had by now spent on this freezing rock. Videl looked around herself, shivering and edging a bit closer to the portable heater which Vegetto had provided for them. Together with Chira and Jari, she sat in the cave they had found to hide in, to wait for the right time to strike. They had been sitting here for almost four hours now, staring into the white nothingness that was outside. None of them spoke much. That was partly because of the grim mood which seemed to flow into them along with the freezing cold. Another part of course was that they had to be double careful with how much noise they made. They were hiding their energy signatures, but if a patrol came by the entrance of the cave, they might not be able to detect him before he detected them. Vegetto had made clear that even though they had made a lot of progress, they still needed every advantage they could gain over their enemy in order to hold out long enough for reinforcements.

They had already talked at great length about the change in Vegetto. They all keenly remembered when it had happened and they all had wanted to share their views on this "new" Vegetto, but since he had withdrawn pretty much since the incident, none of them knew exactly what to think of it. While giving the assignments for this particular battle, he had seemed normal enough, at least as normal as he could be, looking the way he did. It was not so much his appearance, which was strange in itself, what with all the fur, but it were his eyes in particular that still caused Videl to shiver. Not a purely bad shiver, but not entirely good, either. It was simply strange. And that was also part of the somewhat gloomy atmosphere in the cave. They all brooded over thoughts how the change would affect him and them. Videl guessed the change would not affect them as much as many of them feared. Vegetto, she was sure, would still be himself in all ways that mattered to them.

But how did it matter to them? How did it matter to Chira, who saw a kind of grandfather in him? And how Jari, who obviously thought of him as a guide and mentor? How would Gohan see this? She sighed softly, shaking her head to herself. It was no use trying to figure that out. They would deal with it, and she would support them as good as she could.

"Does it HAVE to be so cold here?" Jari murmured quietly and that brought a slight grin to Videl's face.

"I suppose it has to. Kavri said something about this planet always having this weather. Something about geological instability or ah, I don't remember and I didn't much listen. We're not here for history lessons anyway."

The three chuckled quietly. They were not in a bad mood in itself, they were just tense, Videl supposed. That was only normal under the circumstances and the bad thing was, after their discussion about Vegetto, they had all lapsed into a thinking silence. That was a part of what created the brooding atmosphere in the cavern.

"So Jari…what will you do when all this is over?" Videl asked, looking at the Sayan girl.

Jari blinked, surprised at the question. She inclined her head slightly, obviously thinking.

"I…haven't really put any thought to it. I mean, for so long, I've only lived for the next flight, the next planet to find. Now I'm here and I am fighting. It's hard not to think about the future at times, but I try not to, because this war is not yet over, it hasn't even reached its peak yet. I have a feeling, any future I might come up with, would be altered, changed and destroyed even."

Videl nodded slightly.

"I understand your fears, but you already have an idea, don't you? You just don't think about it."

Jari sighed and nodded, looking down.

"I'm hoping to stay with you…all of you. These last months and years if you count the time in the Room, I finally found a place to fit in and be accepted. It feels very good to be here and even though we are on the eve of battle, I do not feel fear or desperation."

She chuckled lightly and shook her head.

"Vegetto told me, before we left Earth, that at one point would understand what having friends means to a warrior. I told him that, if you care for someone so deeply, the terror of loosing him would eventually hinder your ability to fight. He replied that at times, it could actually come to that, but that mostly, the strength we draw from such friendships is incredible. I know what he meant now. At least part of it."

Chira smiled happily at that and hugged Jari tightly for a moment.

"That's good to hear Jari-chan. I'm glad you want to stay here." she said.

"Yeah and you little brat are one of the big reasons for that." she replied and grinned, ruffling Chira's hair lightly.

Videl watched the two, inclining her head faintly. Was there more than just friendship there? Well, the term "just" friendship was wrong in any case, but it seemed to her that the bond between the two girls was very strong. She shrugged slightly and smiled to herself. She was Chira's mother, but she was not so self-centred to try and have a say in every little thing she did. Not any longer, she had to admit. Pan was had been different, but then again, she had been her first child. It was noticeable, too. Pan was much less…wild compared to Chira. She suspected that this was party due to the fact that she had tried to control Pan's upbringing much more than that of Chira. Of course, she also had her suspicions that Son Goku's blood ran much stronger in Chira than in Pan.

In any case, Videl was happy that Chira had befriended Jari so quickly. For one, it had helped the girl overcome her suspicion of everyone around here and her fear of being hurt. Another thing was that Jari had been in dire need of a friend back then and would be for a long time. She suspected she hadn't told them half of the horrors she had had to endure during her flight from the King and now, Chira would be there to listen to her and to be there for her when she needed someone to offer a shoulder to cry on. Videl was actually proud that Chira had taken so well to the girl and had been able to gain her trust and friendship so fast. It seemed as though the two were meant to sit here like this. Two warriors, two partners, two friends. Would they be more? Videl shrugged to herself. She didn't know and as much as it surprised herself, she wouldn't care. The two belonged together, as friends or lovers, it didn't matter to her at least. As long as they remained together, they probably could brave any situation, survive and pull through.

"Well…" Videl was about to say something, but their communication devices cracked once and they heard Vegetto speak to them.

"There is a squad approaching your position…." He paused there for an instant. "Correct that, two squads. I advise you try to stay low and don't attack. Two 1st Circles would be too much, even for Hit and Run."

Videl nodded slightly.

"Understood." she murmured and the contact was gone again. "You heard him. We stay here and hope they don't notice us."

Chira and Jari both obviously disliked that idea, but they refrained from commenting. They both knew that Vegetto was right. Before they could do much else however, they felt the power signatures of the 1st Circle Warriors approach. Videl sighed, nodding to herself. Of course Vegetto was right. These power signatures showed that he was. Too much. One of them was still a challenge and a very tough one at that for the three of them, two were too much, not counting the soldiers which were accompanying them. She sensed 20 with each of the warriors. That brought a grin of satisfaction to her lips. At least their ambushes and their tactics had scared them enough that they were increasing the numbers of guards.

She motioned for the two girls to remain quiet as she herself did, remaining quiet, hiding her energy signature. She felt them closing in and a moment later could have cursed their luck. The two groups of enemies met almost exactly outside of the cave. She could see the dim shapes in the storm outside and quickly motioned for the girls to push back against the wall so they wouldn't be noticed. Over the dense howling of the storm outside she could not make out much of the conversation, so she edged a bit closer, hoping to hear a few pieces of interest. She heard a cold, females voice, matching, if not shadowing the intensity of the storm outside.

"…is such a pain! Why can't we just blast the planet to pieces and be done with it?"

There was some chuckling outside and Videl froze some more. They all knew that this would, sooner or later happen, because they doubted Taris would let them fool him forever. So far however, he wanted to take them out personally and especially Vegetto, which allowed them to continue on their way. Videl suspected he wanted Jari back, too. Probably to kill her with his own hands or to beat her into submission. Her fists clenched slightly as the conversation outside continued.

"The Sayan's have always caused more trouble than they are worth if you ask me. I never understood why the King would keep them around. Just kill the whole lot and you'd have a big source of trouble less." This a male voice, sounding somewhat bored.

"Anyway, with this storm raging and them being able to hide their energy signatures, we won't find them unless we stumble on them."

Videl bit her lip. If only the female out there had any idea just how close she was to stepping on them. The next comment however sent a bolt of shock running through her.

"Anyway, I'll be in that cave a moment." the female said and approached the mouth of the cave Videl, Jari and Chira were hiding in.

"Don't take too long with private matters Berelain!" the male 1st Circle Warrior called after her, chuckling.

They were trapped! There was no other way out of the cave and it was not nearly big enough to hide in if someone else came in looking. Any moment now, the woman would pass into the cave and then they would be trapped. No, they were already trapped. They would have to strike now if they wanted to get any kind of advantage at all.

She motioned to Jari and Chira, signing to them to get ready. They nodded, them too having realized what was happening. They crouched, their muscles tensing as they waited for her signal.

"Videl, Chira and Jari are in trouble." Kavri said quietly as he looked at the viewscreen. Their hiding spot is just about to be compromised by accident. Berelain apparently wants to use their cave for…ahem, a toilet break."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Vegetto chuckled slightly.

"Just our luck, eh?"

He cursed slightly then and shook his head.

"You remain here and prepare for departure. I suppose we'll have to leave earlier than we had anticipated. Tell the other squad to move back and let Ssiti direct them back in. I'll join you with the three as soon as I can."

Kavri nodded and Vegetto left the main bridge quickly.

"Team 1, return to base. Directions following." Kavri then spoke into the headset he was wearing before turning to Ssiti who stood near another console, giving her a slight nod, which she returned and began to calculate a route that would lead their team back to the ship without them being detected.

He paced the room quietly for a moment, his thoughts travelling in circles. Vegetto was a very capable fighter and even more since this latest change in him. Would they get a taste of his new power now or would he remain on a low profile so as not to show their enemy what they still had in store. Kavri would opt for the latter choice, since it would give them more of an advantage later, but then again, the lives of the three in danger would dictate his behaviour, he knew that much.

He heard Ssiti beginning to give the detailed instructions in her quiet, calm voice. The first team would be safe here, he knew that much. His gaze flicked to the viewscreen where the incoming transmissions from the second team were displayed.

Even as he looked, a bright golden light suffused the monitor and a moment later, the connection was cut, reduced to audio-only.

Videl had waited till the last possible moment. The female 1st Circle, Berelain, she remembered the name from the briefing, stepped into the cave, shaking her head for a moment to clear some snow out of her spiky blue hair. She gave the signal to Jari and Chira and all together they charged up to full power. Berelain had only time to blink in surprised realization before the three were on her, each delivering a hard blow to head, stomach and feet. The woman was blasted out of the cave by the sheer impact, vanishing in the storm outside even as Jari, Chira and Videl burst out of the cave, picking out their targets from the gathered crowd. 40 Soldiers hovered, dumb-struck in the air, still looking after the body of Berelain and they had no more time to react. The second 1st Circle Warrior, too was frozen in surprise and couldn't do anything against the first attacks of the three defenders.

Videl leapt up into the ranks of the Soldiers, the reddish aura of power around her hissing with the snow that melted around her. Her foot caught one of the soldiers right in the head, spinning it and snapping it in one, deadly blow. She did not pause to contemplate, instead whirled around, her elbow driving deep into the solarplexus of the next, robbing him of any breath before she vaulted and sent him crashing down into the canyon with a brutal kick. She spun again, spreading her palms in front of her, thrusting her hands out. Crimson energy cascaded from her arms to her fingertips and released in a thousand tiny, needle-like beams, stabbing at the poor fellow who was next in line. The thin lines punctured his armor, threaded through his body and ruptured dozens of vital systems as they did so. When the energy on her hands dissipated, the body of the man fell down to the ground limply, trailing a flow of blood from the thousands of tiny wounds the attack had made. Again, no time to contemplate, by now the warriors reacted, if slowly and Videl found herself in the fight fully.

Jari darted to the left side, picking her first target as she rushed into the battle. Without even seeing the blow coming, the Soldier had no chance of countering, Jari's flat hand connected with his chest hard, her hand glowing bright on impact. With a yell she released a torrent of energy from her hand which pierced the mans chest, blasting him back and away from her. The stabbing lance of energy connected with three more Soldiers, sending them, too hurting away and to the ground. She whirled around, her golden aura blazing as she slammed her foot into the next Soldier in her way, doubling him over before driving her elbow neatly into his back, crushing his spinal cord with one devastating blow. The element of surprise had gained her the advantage, but now the others were reacting and the fighting started for real.

Chira sped to the right side in the pattern the three of them had agreed on earlier. They did not stray from each other very far, but far enough to have enough room to combat efficiently. She darted beside her first victim, who was still staring after the body of his leader and drove her elbow up his chin. She heard his neck snap from the force of the impact and whirled around facing the next soldier. She dashed forward, her knee driving deep into the mans groin, causing him to double over in agony. She leapt up, clasping her hands around the mans head, twisting as she leapt. The snap of this man's broken neck resounded heavily in her ears before she whirled around to face the next soldier, staring at her dumbfounded. She threw her hands forward, her palms touching his chest. Energy rushed from her hands and slammed into the chest of the man, ripping his armor apart, penetrating his body. The limp form fell to the ground even as she turned to face the next Soldiers, who now began attacking, having recovered from their shock.

Videl cursed slightly as she dodged back. The fight had not been going for more than a few seconds and after the initial success, the three of them were driven back by the number of assailants alone. The 1st Circle Warriors had not even intervened yet. They hovered outside the circle the Soldiers had formed around Videl, Jari and Chira by now. They fought back to back now, driving away the incoming soldiers as good as they could, but they would not be able to break out, not with the 1st Circle Warriors watching and waiting.

"Enough of this!" Berelain finally called and the soldiers stopped attacking immediately. They parted the circle around them and Berelain floated through, approaching them with a cruel smile on her blood-stained lips.

"I want to have a bit of fun myself before these are brought to Taris."

Videl cursed under her breath and tried to ready herself for what was coming. But she had no way of being prepared. She had fought with all her strength for the past few minutes and it had taken its toll. She was already weakened and the warrior in front of her was rather relaxed. She saw the attack coming but was not fast enough to do anything. She felt the harsh blow connect to her chest, driving her back before a flurry of hits landed on her. Jari and Chira tried to help, but even with the two attacking, Berelain continued to move on, slamming fist after fist into Videl.

She felt dazed and was floating down, she could no longer hold herself in the air. Berelain, seemingly satisfied with her for now turned on Jari and Chira, having not much more trouble with them than she had had with her. Videl's vision blurred, on the edge of consciousness. She hard voices. Voices of the fighting above? No…no that was pan…she was crying. Why? Why was she crying. Something terrible had happened. Or was happening. She was confused, didn't know what this vision was about.

A moment later it struck her heart like a deathblow. She had always felt sure that Gohan was alive and well. But now, floating here on the edge of consciousness, she felt the link break. She felt the deep connection to her beloved husband dissipate as she no longer could feel his calming presence.

Pan was crying. She was crying for her lost father.

Gohan was dead!

Her Gohan.

"No…this…can't be…" she murmured, feeling rage, anger, sadness welling up in her, sweeping through her. The wounds on her body remained but she couldn't feel it anymore. All that was left was the pain of her loss and the rage towards those who caused it. Rage that slowly built in her heart, cursing through her veins. She felt the boundraries of her power, those she had found after breaking the limits of human capabilities. She clawed at them with furious desperation, tearing at the barricades that kept her from retaliating, from causing those who had taken her love from her the greatest pain possible.

Jari and Chira were both pushed back with every punch. They were wounded, tired and spent. And Berelain seemed nothing of the sort. With every wince, every shout of pain from the two she seemed to become stronger and more brutal.

Was this the end? Did it end here, trapped by this woman, unable to fight back properly. They had known it could happen after all. They hovered, side by side, Berelain approaching them, an amused, cruel smirk on her lips.

"Now…let's go to the grand finale, hm?"

But before she could do anything, all of them sensed something happening. It was as if the air around them, suffused by the blizzard suddenly tensed. Something strained and broke.

Then they heard a bestial yell of fury from somewhere beneath them and the ground began to rumble. The canyon walls crumbled, collapsing. A bright red flash erupted from somewhere down there, bathing the area around them in an eerie, crimson light.

"V…Videl…" Jari breathed heavily, staring down.

It was difficult to tell if it really was Videl, the figure floating upwards. Head thrown back in a by now voiceless yell, the greenish hair had grown slightly, flaring with the torrent of energy that seemed to embrace her. The red glow of her eyes had now engulfed them completely and where her eyes had been, they could see only two pits of crimson energy. The power radiating from her was so thick Jari could have sworn she had just to reach out and touch it. Obviously, Berelain, too was confused by this new turn of events and probably a bit uncertain. At least her expression wasn't that sneering smirk anymore. Her companion, Thiroan had joined her side and was obviously asking something but over the noise of the blizzard and the rumbling earth around them, Jari could not make out the words.

Videl rose to their height, stopping only there and slowly, her head sank forward again. She closed her eyes for a moment, her hands clenching into fists. Jari blinked as she realized that the crimson spots on her cheeks were tears from those strange eyes. When she reopened her eyes, she fixed her gaze on the warriors in front of her.

"I will never forgive you…you will suffer in hell for all eternity."

Around her the air still crackled with crimson energy, suffused with sparkling green flashes of lightning.

"Now now, just because you can glow a bit more than before doe…" Thiroan began with a mocking tone but he didn't get further. One moment Videl had been hovering still, the next she was right in front of the two warriors and her palm was on the man's chest.

"Suffer…" she said, quietly, but with such intensity, that Jari still heard it and the words and the tone sent a shiver down her spine. That as not the loving, caring Videl she had come to know. That was a being of destruction and pain.

Before Thiroan or Berelain could react, Videl's hand glowed in the same eerie red light and she hovered a few paces back. For a moment, nothing happened and a deadly silence fell. Thiroan looked down at the place where Videl's hand had touched him and then began to laugh.

Not for long.

A moment later, crimson lines began to snake from the spot where her hand had been, spreading over the armor to the body, obviously seeping into the skin. Thiroan's laugh stopped dead, changed into a gasp of horror. He flayed suddenly, trying to brush the strands of energy off but to no avail. They dug into his skin and roved on beneath it, spreading ceaselessly. Videl hovered nearby, watching with that crimson gaze.

"No…no stop it! Berelain! Do something!" Thiroan wailed and his words were now suffused with pain. He thrashed about, gasping for breath. The energy lines continued to grow in intensity, visible even through the skin. It was a gruelling thing to watch but Jari could not take her eyes off it. The lines seemed to rend his internal organs apart slowly, painfully, ripping through flesh and bone alike, working from the point where she had touched him, spreading outwards.

"Help me!" he yelled, choking up blood as he thrashed more and screamed out in pain. The lines now began to stab outwards, poking through his flesh with tiny explosions of energy. Blood poured from these little wounds, spilling soon as they grew more and larger. Thiroan roared with pain and agony, unable to do anything against the assailant. He was out of his mind with pain obviously, as he smashed his fists into his own body, trying to defeat an enemy that was working from inside him.

All the while Videl remained motionless, watching.

"Mo…mother…" Jari turned to see Chira staring, not at the spectacle in front of them, but at Videl.

"Please…please stop it…"

Videl seemed to ignore her or couldn't hear her. On and on the suffering went, Thiroan's body being ripped apart from the inside in slow-motion.

"Mother…please…" Chira whispered, begged. She floated closer to Videl, floated in front of her and only then did Videl seem to notice her.

Her eyes narrowed briefly and for a moment Jari had the fear that she had lost her mind completely. Then however, the glow left her eyes, her hair shrunk back and she sagged. Chira caught her mother, preventing her from falling. Jari turned, seeking that the energy inside Thiroan was no longer at work, but its work was done anyway. The once mighty 1st Circle Warrior had, in an attempt to get rid of the energy, smashed his fist into his chest. His dead body was floating to the ground. Berelain stared after it, horror-struck, but Jari knew she would retaliate in a moment.

Vegetto had watched the death of Thiroan from a small distance, surprised and shocked at the power and at the cruelty of Videl. Obviously she had found a new limit, having broken the second, but he hoped that this new level of power would not always come with such brutality. However, now was not the time to think about this. He needed to get them all out of here. He vanished from sight, only to reappear next to Jari, Chira and Videl.

"Grab a hold of me!" he ordered. Jari, though surprised, nodded and took a hold of his arm and grabbed Chira with the other.

"You!"

Berelain had noticed Vegetto, too by now and was obviously very displeased.

"Yes, I regret to inform you that the entertainment for today is done. Please come visit our next show on a planet nearby."

She fumed, obviously readying an attack on him but Vegetto didn't let it come to that. Touching two fingers to his forehead, he, together with the others, vanished instantly.

Berelain stared at the spot for a moment, cursing under her breath, but then looked down to the ground where Thiroan lay with his fist still embedded in his chest. Obviously, she had been lucky she had not been the first target of that woman.

Well, Thiroan was not really a great loss. She turned, motioning for the remaining soldiers to join her and sped towards Taris's ship. She would have to report this and without a doubt, these cursed defenders were already lifting off right now. She cursed again, knowing that this would only lead to the next planet where everything would begin anew.

Still, she had memorized the face of that woman. Even though she would never have admitted it, as she had watched Thiroan writhe in pure agony, caused by that small woman, she had felt a stab of fear, but she would make sure that this woman would be the one to fear her in the end. On the horizon, she saw a bright speck of light, edging up and towards the stars. The defenders ship, no doubt.

"Flee all you want…in the end, we will get you and oh how much fun we will have then." she muttered under her breath as she picked up more speed, heading back to the King's ship.

End Chapter 16


	17. Emptiness

Author's note: My apologies for this chapter being so late. I must admit, I found it hard to write, or better, i found it hard to start writing it. It's a chapter that is very thought-focussed as it simply deals with the results of Gohan's death. I find such things more difficult to write than action-oriented chapters because I don#t want the figures to come across as empty, which was especially hard with Vegetto here. Anyway, have fun with the new chapter. :)

* * *

_**Chapter 17**_  
**Emptiness**

"_It was just another war,  
with all the tragedies war  
is known for."_

_- High Warrior Trunks_

She hadn't slept in days. The food that Vegetto or Ssiti had brought her remained untouched on the table in her quarters. Videl seemed lost in a trauma that no one could penetrate. Chira had taken refuge with Jari, had not come to grips with the situation yet, but at least, there were signs of her condition getting better. Jari took good care of her, cheered her up and did her best to boost her spirits again somehow after having allowed her the days of grief such a death merited. After those however, she had done her best to get the girl going again, get her to train, to smile, to talk with the others.

Videl on the other hand had just sat back and remained in her quarters. She would listen to no one, not Vegetto, not Ssiti, not even Chira had been able to penetrate the thick shield of sadness surrounding her. She just sat in her room, staring at the window, ignoring everything around her and spiralling deeper and deeper into despair.

"Someone will have to get her out of this state, or she'll drown in the Void." Ssiti said quietly.

Kavri looked up from his position beside her on the bridge. As so often, Ssiti was the one who manned the bridge during those long and lonesome hours of travel between battles. She or Arisa would usually be here, or both, monitoring their course, adjusting it if necessary. Arisa, the abused Sayan girl had recovered somewhat and was now at least able to talk with the others on board the ship. Kavri had found it unnerving to have someone in their quarters who just wouldn't say a word and hid behind the furniture when he was in the room. Of course, that had subsided after a while and through Ssiti's patient care, she had finally been able to let go of her fear somewhat.

"Void?" Kavri echoed the word, unsure what she meant.

"Yes", Ssiti replied softly, looking up as well. "The Void which has been created by ripping out her husband. The place inside her which was occupied by the love for him and which is now sucking all the good things inside it, love, determination, spirit."

She sighed and looked to the screen again.

"It'll be the end of her if she can't escape it."

Kavri nodded and shifted a bit, leaning on the edge of the console next to him. It was of course, much more than Videl herself that as at stake. Her state of mind affected the others on board. Despair fed despair. While Chira had somewhat recovered from her own despair, he knew that if her mother would continue to be in this state, it would eventually drag her down as well. The Defenders were closely linked and something that impacted so profoundly on one of them carried to the others like waves. So, it was not 'just' Videl at stake here, if you could be so callous to lessen her psychological well-being.

"What do you suggest we do?" he asked after a moment of contemplative silence.

"Someone needs to wake her up. I am not sure how. I tried, but she won't let me get near her. It should be someone who has suffered a similar loss…maybe she can identify with something like that."

Kavri nodded again and made a mental note to talk to Vegetto about that. The door to the bridge opened and Arisa walked in, looking about briefly, her slightly glimmering, artificial eyes checking who was present, then smiled a soft smile and headed over to Ssiti and Kavri.

"Ah, Arisa-chan, did you sleep well?" Ssiti asked and smiled gently as the girl came to her side, offering Kavri a soft nod and a small smile.

"Yes, thank you. I can take over from here on, You should get some rest, too."

Ssiti chuckled and ruffled the spiky hair on the girl's head, but then nodded and got up.

"It is good you are here. I will go and speak with Vegetto about Videl."

She looked up to Kavri, who nodded and enfolded her small frame in his arms, hugging her gently and placing a light kiss on her forehead. She smiled softly, stood on the tip of her toes to place a light kiss on each of his cheeks, then leaned down to do the same to Arisa before she turned and left the bridge, leaving him alone with the young Sayan.

Arisa sat down on Ssiti's place and checked the readouts presented on the screen, made some notes and then leaned back. Her metallic arm rested on the console while her real one scratched the back of her neck and stifled a yawn.

"How long DID you sleep?" Kavri asked, with a light smile on his lips. He could see why Ssiti had taken to look after the girl. He could also see why she was by now practically part of the family for Ssiti and he was not about to deny his wife this wish.

"Ah…" Arisa replied, blinking and looking down quickly. "I…ahm…trained a bit before…so…so I got…"

Kavri chuckled a bit and shook his head.

"How long Arisa?"

She blushed lightly and looked down some more.

"An hour...I think." she replied very quietly.

Kavri sighed and ruffled the girl's hair lightly.

"Go and get some more sleep. I'll keep an eye on things here. No…no backtalking Arisa, go to our quarters and get some rest."

She had started to protest, but her protests faltered under his gaze and she stood up slowly.

"Hai…otou-san." she murmured and then hurried off the bridge.

Kavri looked after her a moment. This was the first time the girl had called him father like that. Of course, it was clear and no secret that she considered Ssiti her surrogate mother, but he had so far practically only been someone that was there, no one to really talk to, no one to pay special mind.

He chuckled lightly.

So Ssiti was getting the family she had so wished for. He would certainly not deny her that.

* * *

She found Vegetto in the training room, as she had suspected. The quiet leader of the Defenders was most often found either here or on the bridge. Ssiti stepped into the large, circular room and watched him for a while, performing the forms of some sort of Kata. His new appearance still unnerved her a bit. She had not fully understood what exactly had happened, but the way Vegetto had explained it, this was the Sayan's true form, their ancestry. She had, since then, tried to picture Kavri in this form, but failed. It was just too alien right now. 

He noticed her, of that she had no doubt, but he continued with his training until the Kata was complete. He paused a moment, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, before his body was briefly enveloped by a faint glow and he reverted back to his normal shape. She guessed he did this for her, because he knew the effect it had on others thus far. Turning to face her fully, he approached with slow, measured steps.

"How can I help you Ssiti?" he asked quietly as he picked up a towel lying on one of the benches and dried his features.

"It's about Videl, isn't it?"

Once more, Vegetto demonstrated that he was not only a superb fighter, but also a good leader in many ways. He knew people, could read them instinctively and knew how to handle them, too.

"Yes." Ssiti replied. "You must do something Vegetto. We cannot allow her to dwell like this any further. She will only destroy herself."

His quiet, black gaze lifted from her and travelled to the center of the room as though searching for answers.

"Yes, I know that." he said after a moment. "But to be quite honest with you, I can't do anything about it. I tried talking to her, but I doubt she would talk to me. I had hopes she would talk to you, but apparently, she's closed down so much…" he sighed and let the end of the sentence hang.

"I thought a lot about who would be good to talk to her. And I wonder…has C18 tried it yet?" Ssiti asked.

On the way here, she had mentally gone through the people on the ship, trying to find someone who had been in a similar situation. The only one she came up with was C18. She had lost her husband, too, though not to a war, she had also lost him without being able to help him.

"C18?" Vegetto raised a brow and looked back to her.

"Yes. She is about the only one in the crew who can relate to Videl. At least somewhat."

Vegetto blinked, then nodded slowly, walking a few steps away from Ssiti.

"True. And no, as far as I know, she has not talked to her. Its not in her nature I guess. I'll go and ask her to do so."

Ssiti nodded lightly and got up. She hesitated a moment, then looked to Vegetto again.

"And how are you feeling Vegetto?" she asked.

He turned slowly, his gaze resting on her, dark, calm, unreadable as always. She wondered, how much emotion was left in him after this Fusion process. After all, he must have felt something akin to Videl. It had been his son after all. Well, partly his son, but still. There should have been /some/ reaction at least. The days after the escape from the last world, he had simply gone on as always, had tried to talk to Videl quite a few times, but always without success until he finally resigned from the tries for the time being. Other than that, he had just gone on as though nothing had happened.

"I am fine, thank you." he said finally.

There was nothing to hint that it was any different than he said. No shimmer of sadness, no tone in his voice that would suggest he was grieving. Was he really that cold? Or was he just too good at hiding it?

"Are you su…" she began, but Vegetto cut her off.

"I said I am fine." He repeated quietly, but with authority. "Fine, by definition, does not mean excellent, or even really good. It simply means I do not need help in dealing with what is at hand. As much as your concern touches me, and it does touch me, there are others on this ship who need it. A person can stretch too far Ssiti. You are trying to be too much. A good wife for Kavri, a mother to Arisa, a shoulder to cry on for Chira, a rock of faith for Videl, a kind of mother for all of us."

He turned away from her again, his gaze drifting through the room.

"What you are doing is wonderful, and it helps keep everyone sane and in good spirits. I appreciate that, but what I don't want, is for you to burn out because you did too much of caring. You know you have limits as well…don't cross them, at least not for me, because we need you too much for you to burn out."

He paused slightly, his frame unmoving in the pale light of the room.

"Thank you."

Ssiti nodded slowly, understanding and accepting the dismissal and left the training room, casting a last glance over her shoulder to the man standing there before the door closed.

For a brief moment, she wondered what kind of impact a man like him could have on the events in the galaxy. What would have happened if he had been present when Freezer attacked the Sayan homeworld? Then she realized that she didn't have to wonder about such things. She would be there to witness how he…no, how they would write history.

* * *

Videl stared at the window. She didn't really see the window, nor did she really see the stars beyond it. She saw darkness and in that darkness, a reflection of herself, weak, powerless, pathetic. Exactly the way she felt. Everything seemed so useless suddenly. From time to time, her hair would flare brightly green for a second, her eyes turning crimson, before she changed back again, shaking her head. All useless. All for nothing. 

She had wanted to fight so much. She had wanted to be as strong as her friends, as her husband, to protect them, to protect him and not always be the one who needed protecting. It had been her wish, ever since she had realized how powerless she truly had been until…until that day in the Room of Spirit and Time, when she had suddenly found and broken the barrier of human limits. Limit Break Vegetto had called it.

For a precious time, she had been able to fight alongside her friends. She had finally felt like being useful.

That feeling was gone. All her new power, all her strength, it had counted for nothing. Gohan was dead and she had been unable to do anything. She hadn't even been near him. She had let him go, knowing full well the danger and she hadn't even really protested. Why? Because she had looked forward to fighting. She had not paid a second thought to the idea that he could be killed while searching for the other Sayans.

There was a knock at the door.

She didn't answer it.

The door opened and in the reflection of the window, she saw C18 walk into the dark room. She had switched off the light. The only illumination coming from the time display next to the bed. An odd, eerie red light. The brief moment the door was open, bright light flooded into the room, but it was shut out again quickly as the android woman stepped in and the door closed.

"What do you want?" she asked, not looking away from the darkness outside.

"I've been asked to talk to you." C18 replied.

"You of all people? Well, whatever, don't want to talk."

C18 shrugged slightly, but remained standing where she was.

"I also don't want company." Videl added sourly.

"That's quite obvious." C18 simply replied, but still, she remained where she was.

"Well, would you care to leave then?" Videl said after a minute of waiting for her to leave.

"No." C18 said casually.

Videl blinked and turned slightly to look at the woman. What was the purpose of this?

"Why?" she asked.

"Many reasons. One, to show you, that you don't always get what you want. Two, because someone needs to shake you out of that self-serving lethargy you've fallen into and three, because I think I like this cabin."

Videl blinked, anger flushing through her at the words she heard. What nerve did this…this machine have to talk to her this way?

"You are about to yell at me, yes?" C18 continued, unimpressed by the anger on Videl's features.

"Go ahead, I don't mind. In fact, I can turn down my acoustic sensors enough so it won't be more than a calming whisper to me."

Videl boggled. What was she playing at?

"You…how dare you come in here and say such things to me? What crazy idea was on Vegetto's little mind when he sent you here? I've…" she wanted to say more, but C18 cut her short with a gesture and her own words.

"You've lost someone. Someone very important to you. Someone to whom you feel you owed your life and to whom your heart belonged. You couldn't do a thing about it, he was just taken away from you and now you feel as though you are worthless. You also think nothing in the world is worth getting up for anymore. There's no reason to fight anymore. You look at the window, because actually, you are looking at yourself and you hate what you see."

Videl shivered with every sentence C18 said. It was all true, it was exactly what she felt. It was not just exactly what she felt but it was exactly the way she would have explained it, had she cared.

"I…you…" she stammered and looked up, confused. How could she of all people see this so clearly?

"Maybe you forgot, but I lost my husband, too." C18 simply said.

Videl blinked, then cringed slightly. Yes, she had forgotten. Krillin, she had lost him to old age. He had died not long ago from natural heart failure, even though he had not been that old. With the Dragon Balls gone, there had been nothing his friends, nor his wife had been able to do. She had been powerless to save him, with all her strength, all the energy stored inside her, she had not been able to do anything for him. It wasn't exactly the same situation, true, but still, very close.

"How…how did you manage…?" Videl asked, croaked more or less. She looked up, desperately looking at the woman who looked back at her with that strange gaze of hers. With a soft sigh, C18 sat down on the small couch next to Videl.

"If there's one thing I learned from my husband, it's that I'm never alone." she began quietly.

"He was my life, he gave my life to me by loving me the way he did. I wouldn't have been…alive if it hadn't been for him. What made that possible? I'm not entirely sure myself, but what I do know, is that from the moment I recognized that I was now part of his life, I was also a part of his friends life. True, there's nothing that can fill the gap he left when he died, but instead of focussing on that gap, I found there are other things to cherish, other things to protect, other things to live for. I keep him inside, because he made it all possible, because I loved him as much as I can ever love someone, but the last thing he would want me to do, would be to succumb to sorrow and leave alone those who need me. My daughter, my friends, my /family/ if you wish."

She paused a moment, looking at Videl.

"And you? Draw aside the curtain of your sorrow for a moment and look at what you are doing. Look at Chira. She's had to come back from losing her father without her mother's help. Look at your fellow fighters. They suffer because they see you suffer. Do you think this is what Gohan would like to see? Look at me Videl!"

Videl had been looking down, shivering with the humiliating truths C18 spoke so clearly, but forced herself to look up again, forced herself to meet the cool blue gaze.

"We need you. Chira needs you, now more than ever. Pan will need you when she gets back. You can't just resign yourself to nothingness because you've been hurt. It's weak, and it's unfair towards those who rely on you, just as you rely on them."

Videl swallowed slightly.

"But…this pain…it's…" she shook her head, but looked back at C18 again.

"Yes…the pain won't go away quickly. And it shouldn't. But you shouldn't let it be an excuse to hide from your responsibilities. Grieve for Gohan, but don't let it keep you from doing what you have to do. We all hurt because we have lost him, but we cannot allow that to be the undoing of us."

She stood up slowly a rare, light smile on her lips.

"There's a little girl outside, who probably listened to everything we just said. She's been waiting for you to come to her, but I think…I shall send her to you now, ne?"

She stepped back, the door opened and Chira stood there, looking at C18 shortly and then at her mother.

C18 walked out of the cabin when mother and daughter fell into each others arms, hugging tightly. Briefly, she stopped at a window, looking to the stars passing by outside. She saw a pale reflection of herself and for the briefest of moments, she thought she could see Krillin standing beside her, smiling his silly smile for her.

'Thank you.' she thought, smiling briefly. 'You would be…proud of me…wouldn't you?'

* * *

/ Taris's Ship – In pursuit of Defenders / 

The moods of the King were legendary and everyone on board knew it was best to simply stay out of sight until a mood like this had subsided. Not only had the Defenders managed to flee again, they had even managed to kill one of the 1st Circle warriors. The rumor on the ship had it, that it hadn't even been the Defenders strongest warrior who had done it. Public discussion of this rumor was of course not allowed and anyone stupid enough to mention something in regard to that rumor found himself outside in space without a spacesuit faster than he could blink.

One of his 1st Circle dead at the hands of such a weakling. Berelain had told him all about the incident. She had spoken of the strange transformation. How it had been no problem to fight these Defenders until that moment. Of the strange attack she had used and the obvious suffering it had caused to Thiroan before he had killed himself. Killed himself!

Taris growled and smashed his fist into the table in front of him, causing it to break and scatter over the floor. This was /not/ how things should go. A mere Sayajin and his band of upstarts were defying him and they were defying him on every planet they chose to land on. He would crush them. He would make them suffer painful, and long deaths!

A soft beeping tore him from his thoughts. He noticed it was the private communication device. Only one person in the galaxy could contact him there and he always had time for her.

Walking to the display set into the wall, he punched a code into the console and activated the display. It flickered briefly, then showed the lovely face of his daughter. She was smiling and he knew that when his daughter was smiling, there was something to be happy about.

"Father." she said with a soft voice, one she reserved for him alone. "I have good news for you. Though there have been complications, I have managed to deal with the source of the problems here in our Empire."

She smiled a bit more, brushing back a stray strand of her spiky hair.

"It was, believe it or not, a half Sayan. The son of the one you are chasing now. He freed the Sayans here, but I managed to deal with him in the end."

Taris's smile broadend and then he laughed suddenly.

"Oh this is too good. My lovely daughter, you have turned this complete catastrophe into a victory for me!"

He laughed some more, thinking how fitting this punishment was. Of course the loss of a First Circle Warrior was still bad, but this more than made up for it.

"I'm glad you are happy father." Sirania said with a light chuckle.

"I am on my way back now. I hope you have more…pleasant work for me?"

Taris chuckled and nodded lightly.

"I will give you coordinates to meet up with me. I am looking forward to seeing you again my daughter. Together, we'll show this Sayajin scum what suffering really is. Good work in killing his son!"

He laughed again, shaking his head and thus not noticing the short glance Sirania cast to the side before she looked back, all smiles again.

"I am looking forward to seeing you, too."

He nodded and closed the connection again. Yes, this was great news. He walked through the room, still chuckling. This might even deliver a good blow to their morale. It could also explain their sudden departure from the last worlds and it might even explain the power-surge from this one Defender. Maybe she had been his mate and had felt his death which had sent her into this rage.

Nodding to himself he opened the doors to his bedroom. His two favourite slaves looked up to him, their adorable faces twisting into masks of pleasure when seeing him. He paid it no mind, casting aside his clothing and laying down on the bed. He was euphoric and that called for celebration. Even as he rested back against the pillows, the two beauties began to caress his body with their lips and hands while he still savoured this victory over Vegetto.

* * *

/ Leaving Tarisian Space / 

Trunks looked down to Pan, who rested in her bed, her eyes shut tight. She was sleeping, finally, after having been awake but lethargic for the past days. Ever since she had witnessed her father's death, he had been unable to talk to her. She had just sat there and said nothing, done nothing. He had cared for her as good as he could, but other things had been important to do, too. With the help of his mother via communications, he had removed all of the collars from the Sayans they had gathered up. They had been quiet, almost removed until he had done so. When the collars were gone however, they had gradually begun to realize that they were free and they had thanked him so often he had lost count. The words had a bad taste in his ears. Their rescue had had a steep price. He had explained the situation to them, briefly but they had, of course, agreed to help as best they could. When he had been done with the explaining, he had asked they leave him alone.

Then he had cried.

Gohan had been very important to him, a kind of older brother he had never had. He had been a friend, a mentor, someone to draw strength from, someone to look up to. He had always been there for him and Trunks had taken it as a given that he always would be.

And now he was gone. Just like that, dead.

He had still been trying to cope with that when the call from Vegetto had come in.

"Gohan is dead!" he had blurted out as soon as the connection was there.

"I know." Vegetto had replied, calmly. Trunks couldn't believe how calm he was. That was his son they had been talking about. At least partly.

"Tell me how it happened."

So Trunks had reported everything he had seen and experienced. The arrival, the woman, the Sayans. Gohan's ploy to give them time to leave. The fight they had witnessed while lifting off. The explosion. The vanishing of his energy.

"So you managed to get the Sayans safely off the planet?" Vegetto had asked.

Trunks had just nodded weakly in return.

"Good. At least his death is not for nothing. Alter your course to meet us at these coordinates. We will have to do a fly-by pickup but Bulma promises me it will be no problem."

He paused a moment, then inclined his head.

"How is Pan holding up?"

Trunke blinked and then sighed slightly.

"As can be expected. She has not spoken a word since we left the planet. She's in bed, staring at nothingness."

Vegetto nodded slightly.

"Do your best to keep her in line. We will need both of you when you get back."

And with that, he had signed out. Keep her in line? Trunks had been of a mind to smash in the monitor, but that would have helped nothing. How was he supposed to keep her in line if he could barely manage that with himself?

He had refrained from smashing in the screen and instead had done his best to be there for Pan, despite the fact that she didn't even want someone near. His efforts had paid off, in that she had at least listened to him and gone to sleep for a bit.

Now he sat beside her bed, looking down at her with a sad smile on his lips.

"He's right though, isn't he? I could hate him for it, but he's right. They'll need us when we get back." he whispered and brushed a hand through her short hair gently.

"I'll do my best to help you back."

He looked up as there was a soft knock on the door. Standing up slowly, he went to the door, opened it and stepped outside, closing it behind him again. Outside, one of the Sayans stood, bowing slightly.

"My apologies, I hope I didn't wake you?"

Trunks shook his head.

"Come on, let's go somewhere else, or we'll wake Pan."

The Sayan nodded and followed him to the bridge of the ship.

"How can I help you?" Trunks asked finally when they had both taken a seat.

"Well, you've told us many things in a short span of time and afterwards…we realized your grief over the loss of your friend was too big. So we figured you'd need some time to return to us. I simply hoped, you would now be of a mind to tell us a bit more about the things you only began to outline last time."

Trunks nodded slowly and leaned back in his chair.

"Well, I might as well start telling you. Once we get to the others, I suppose events will start to get really fast in any case. So…"

And thus Trunks began to tell him about everything. It was amazing how little the Sayan knew of the galaxy. He supposed they had been kept under-informed for a reason. So he actually began telling the story of Goku as a whole as he had been told by his mother who had been there from the beginning. Of course, he summarized many parts and left out unimportant tidbits, but basically, he recounted everything that had happened since then, leading to the events now and the plans which the Defenders were following. During the talk, he himself felt the will to fight flood back into him. He realized that there was too much at stake to quit now, too much to turn away and hide. Gohan had died, but his death had allowed them to rescue the Sayans and that could well be the turning point in this war.

Or so he hoped.

___End Chapter 17_


	18. The War must go on

Author's Note: At the end of this Chapter, there's the lyrics to a Sayan Song. If any of you know it, the melody is along the lines of the Main Theme of "Return – A Warcraft Motion Picture". If you want to find out what the song sounds like, go see it. It's not difficult to google up and it's extremely well made in any case.

Enjoy Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**  
The War must go on

_"Sleep my child, dream of fields, of earth and fire, of ocean shores….of blood and bones."  
- Sayan Lullaby_

The fly-by docking maneuver had been a success. Thanks in large to Bulma's superb calculations, they had not had to slow down their ship once while they met up with Trunks, pan and the rescued Sayans and thus did not lose ground against the pursuers. Ssiti and Kavri had shown the Sayans to their quarters. Kavri had known the Sayans and they had known him. As far as Vegetto understood it, they had known of each other but had seldom been allowed to see each other during their time of service. Mostly during parades when they had been led around like game on display. Videl, once again more her old self, had picked up Pan immediately. Vegetto had been worried for a moment when the girl had stepped out of the ship, eyes empty, devoid of anything but sadness. He trusted Videl to take care of that, Videl and her entire family of course. After C18 had managed to get Videl out of her depressions, he supposed that the mother in Videl would take over naturally and Chira and Pan would be all right in her care. Bra had been there and picked up Trunks. Vegetto could see the younger man had been wounded, inside, by Gohan's death, but obviously, he had already returned with spirit and a will to fight on. His sister's presence would make sure it stayed that way.

So, Vegetto found himself standing in the observation lounge by himself, staring at space and beyond. Everyone was accounted for, everyone was being taken care of. That left him to contemplate the death of his son by himself. In the course of his unification, he had since accepted that, although a new person, blood ties would not go away that easily. So he still had considered Gohan his son, just as he considered Trunks his son as well.

He had known there would be sacrifices in this war. He had known there was the possibility of people dying and he had accepted it because he had to. It didn't make things easier of course, especially not on the young ones. Chira, Bra, Pan, even Goten and Trunks, they were still so young and they were experiencing the horrors of war first hand now.

He sighed slightly and shook his head, turning around to pace the room slowly. They would bounce back, he was sure of that. The tightly woven social net of the Defenders would catch any member before it fell into the "Void" as Ssiti would cal it. It had done so for Videl, and Pan would come back, too. It was harsh to think that way, but he couldn't afford to think on such things right now. He focussed his attention instead on something else, the newly arrived Sayans.

They were different from Kavri, so much was clear. Maybe they had been in captivity longer, or maybe their spirit hadn't been as resilient, but they had been near broken before Gohan and the others had rescued them and it was much more difficult for them to return into freedom, or would be as Vegetto feared. Beside, they were not near as powerful as Kavri himself. Of course, they could turn out to be, with training and time and if they had another day in the Room of Spirit and Time they could have progressed immensely, but they didn't have that time and thus would have to make do with what they had. That was 12 Sayan warriors ranging in strength from Pan's powerlevel to roughly the equivalent of C18. Sure, it was an addition to their fighting power, but it wasn't the guarantee for victory.

He shook his head again, closed his eyes a moment. No use in crying over spilt milk, right? It did not really change the plans they had, it might just force them to act a bit faster. For one, they couldn't allow many more small battles. Two reasons for that. One, they might lose more fighting power in the process as they had lost Gohan and two, the King had enough leads by now to probably guess what Vegetto was up to. If he decided to act on the leads and he returned to the Research facility before the Defenders could get there, it would be a tough thing to rescue the Sayan girls.

So he had set the course directly for Taris Prime now. They were heading deep into Tarisian space, deep into enemy territory. It was a risk. Taris could order troops there to await them, but at least, they wouldn't be himself and the First Circle. Troops they could handle and with the added power of the new Sayans, they should be able to handle them pretty well even. The First Circle was another thing and Taris himself of course. Plus, his daughter, who obviously was behind Gohan's death and thus, a force to be reckoned with. After all, she had killed Gohan, even after he had found his power again.

He frowned slightly, then shook his head again.

They'd just have to get to the Research facilities. That would of course, let the King catch up with them. Hed have to delay the King in that case, make sure the others got away. It could work. He would have to make it work.

* * *

/ Training Room – Defenders Ship / 

They were being watched. Not only by Ssiti and Arisa. That was normal. Vegetto had gotten used to the two of them sitting at the edge of the training room when he trained with Kavri. Ssiti seemed just to be fond of watching her husband train. Arisa tried to pick things up for her own training, which was progressing faster every day now.

But today, there were twelve more spectators. The Sayans had requested to watch. They had heard of Kavri of course. He had been the strongest Sayan warrior in the Empire and he had grown stronger since so they had expressed interest in seeing him and Vegetto fight.

Vegetto chuckled softly as he finished with his warm-ups.

"Well…shall we begin with the beginners round?" he asked, winking.

Kavri chuckled, straightening.

"I'd be glad to."

The two stood, opposing each other in the large room. It had been constructed to give them enough room to train freely, but of course it was limited in size. It had also been constructed to withstand destructive power of Sayan proportions, although there, too, it had limits of course, so neither Kavri nor Vegetto would go full out. However, they could fight at a decent powerlevel in here without fearing to destroy the ship.

They remained standing for a moment, then both suddenly vanished and a resounding boom filled the room. They were suddenly visible again, though barely more than a blur to the eyes of normal people. They attacked and counterattacked, fists and feet slamming into blocks or slicing through thin air. Another deafening sound, they vanished again, reappeared in another part of the room, seeming to get even faster as they went. The people present in the room could follow their fight still, but even for them it was a spectacle already. The two danced, evading and blocking each others attacks as they got faster.

It was Vegetto who got hit first. Kavri's elbow smashed into his ribcage, then his knee dug into Vegetto's jaw. Vegetto was thrown backwards, careening through the room. Kavri disappeared, reappearing in his path, ready for another attack. But Vegetto recovered too quickly. Kavri whirled to kick, but his foot sizzled through empty air, an illusion of where Vegetto had been just a moment before. Vegetto appeared behind Kavri, smirking.

"Nice try." He said and his elbow slammed into Kavri's back, now sending him careening off.

Vegetto dashed after him and followed up with a punch, but Kavri had regained control and blocked it with his arms, returning the smirk.

"Not THIS easy my friend." he said and chuckled.

The two warriors flipped back, coming to their feet, standing a bare ten meters apart.

"Hmm, I think we should proceed to the real training now. We don't have THAT much time, ne?" Vegetto said.

Kavri nodded.

Both remained quiet a while, then crossed their arms in front of them. Energies gathered around the two, swirling, forming complex patterns and dissolving again. The ranks of the spectators gasped, the Sayans staring in wonder. They were able to sense the energies pouring out of the two warriors, concentrating, thickening as they gathered their energies.

As one, the two thrust their hands to their sides. The auras around them burst into bright gold, there was a blinding flash of light and a torrent of wind howled through the room. The onlookers had to close their eyes, when they looked back, they saw both warriors, surrounded by pure energy, their hair having grown to reach beyond their waist, though still as spiky as before, glowing a fierce golden color.

"That's…" one of the Sayans said, whispered.

"The third stage." Ssiti said beside them, smiling softly.

They turned to her, staring, then back to the two fighters, who were smiling lightly.

"I keep wondering why you continue to train like this." Kavri said, inclining his head.

"Practice the basics. You must make the basics so innate that they are a part of you." Vegetto shrugged and smiled lightly.

Kavri nodded thoughtfully.

"We are heading directly for the Research Facilities, do you think we are ready for this?"

Vegetto stretched his right arm, flexing his hand slowly.

"We have to be. The guerrilla tactics we had until now won't work much longer and with the Sayans freed, Taris might realize what we're after before we can alter our course. If he had been there before us, that would have been a real problem."

Kavri nodded, straightening fully again.

A brief moment later, the room seemed to explode as the two charged at each other and continued their battle at an entirely new level. The Sayans could only watch in awe as the two warriors went at each other mercilessly.

* * *

There were two more spectators, but they watched the fight from outside, over the cameras installed in the training room. The cameras were mainly there so people could watch and analyse themselves after training, but right now, it served for Jari and Bra to watch the fight between Vegetto and Kavri. Why they didn't join the crowd in the training room, Jari wasn't sure, but she didn't feel too comfortable around the other Sayans yet. Maybe because she only remembered them as slaves to the Tarisian Empire. It would change in time, but for now, she kept a distance. 

"Incredible." Bra said softly, her eyes wide as she watched the screens.

Jari was quiet, her eyes glued to the two men fighting there. She was itching to join them, itching to test her own strength against them, but of course she also knew she would have had no chance against them. Kavri would beat her in a direct fight and Vegetto…

Vegetto was more powerful than he showed here. He was fighting at the third stage and she knew for a fact he could change to the fourth and final stage. The True Sayajin.

She sighed to herself, closing her eyes a moment.

"Yes, incredible." she whispered.

"You're jealous." Bra stated, chuckling softly.

"Who wouldn't be?" Jari replied, grumbling.

"Well, I'm not. Not really. Although I think…well, it would be good to have more people like these two."

Jari shrugged slightly and continued to watch as the two continued their fight. She promised herself to go on with training right after these two were done. Bra might not be jealous of such strength, but Jari certainly was in a way. Even though she had advanced quickly, she knew that she was still no match for either Kavri, nor Vegetto. The worst thing about that was, that Vegetto seemed to think their power was not enough to defeat Taris. Or at least not Taris and all of his henchmen. She blinked once, letting her eyes travel to one of the other monitors which showed the spectators and her eyes fixed on Arisa, who was sitting beside Kavri's wife. She seemed relaxed at the moment, even though Jari could see she was following the fight attentively.

Vegetto had told her, she was not exactly sure why, what Arisa had gone through exactly. He had even told her that he guessed that one of their biggest problems, would be the child Arisa had been forced to born. Taris's daughter. Jari shivered with revulsion and also felt a wave of pity run through her, thinking of what this poor girl had had to endure. Just another reason to hate Taris, added to a long list.

"I doubt we'll get many more supporters Bra-chan. We've got to make do with whom we have here, which is why every one of us must be stronger than we are now." Jari said after a moment of contemplation had passed.

"And the thing about getting this strong…I think it's not something that comes only with need. Sure, having a viable reason for wanting this strength is one thing, but do you think either of these two fights /only/ because they want to protect?"

She pointed at the screens at the images of Kavri and Vegetto who were locked together, each having deflected a blow from the other and were struggling for the upper hand. Even in the camera's their grim, but smiling faces could be seen. Jari knew, had it been a fight for life or death, they wouldn't have looked different, maybe even more pleased. Bra shook her head and looked to Jari as well.

"But Vegetto says your greatest strength comes when you want to protect something that's dear to you."

Jari nodded and looked back to Bra again.

"That's true, but it's only a part of the truth I think. Even the most profound wish to protect someone, cannot overcome limits and barriers you set yourself. If you do not want to grow stronger, if you do not actually desire to fight, so you can reach your limits and grow beyond them, then there WILL be a limit you can't pass."

Jari shrugged slightly and shook her head.

"I'm not sure I'm really qualified to say this. I mean, most of what I'm saying is what I pieced together from what Vegetto explained to me. I just know that there's more to his power than the wish to protect someone. I'm not saying that it's not a good reason to fight, certainly not. You, all of you showed me that this wish can be a source of strength where I thought it would only be a weakness."

She smiled then, thinking of Chira and the others for a moment.

"Still, I believe that to reach that level of power, you need both. Chira told me that Goku always outdid the enemies coming for Earth. She told me he would meet the challenge with a smile, anticipating it even though he knew he might be killed. That's why he could always bounce back, always come back stronger than before. He sought the challenge, met it, enjoyed it and if he was beaten, the strength of his belief, the strength of his promise to protect everyone would help him come back."

Bra nodded slowly, feeling more than knowing that the words from the Sayan girl spoke truth as she watched the screen light up a bright white, Kavri and Vegetto vanishing in the light as they continued their training.

* * *

Pan lay cuddled against Videl on the couch, Chira stood by the window, staring out towards the stars. The atmosphere in the room was heavy with sadness and she could still hear the soft sobs coming from her sister's form. She felt the emptiness inside her still, felt the hole where her father should have been, but she fought not to lose control of her emotions, not to cry more than she had. It wouldn't do any good and she would cause Pan to cry more. Her older sister needed strength to draw from right now. Chira was glad that Videl had come back to her, that C18 (the android of all people), had managed to convince her mother to fight on and to lend her strength to her daughters, who, in this time, needed it most. She was not ashamed to admit that, when Videl had come back, she had cried into her mothers shoulder for a long time. Jari had been a wonderful friend. The most wonderful friend Chira could have imagined, being by her side, cheering her up, giving her support wherever she could, but some things only a mother could do. Videl had come to her room, had smiled to Jari, embraced the Sayan girl with a whispered, "thank you" and Jari had returned the smile, leaving the room, knowing Chira was in her mothers hands again. 

And now the family was reunited. At least, what was left. Chira stared out the window, as though she could find answers to the why out there, but of course, answers would not suddenly appear written among the stars and in truth, Chira knew already that there was only one answer. Only one reason for her father's death.

War was like that.

She shivered briefly and turned around to look at her mother who returned the look while idly brushing a hand through Pan's messy hair. She smiled a light, sad smile.

"So we finally feel the sting what it is like to not have the Dragon Balls." Chira said quietly.

Videl lifted a brow at that and then shook her head slightly.

"I don't think so Chi-chan. The Dragon Balls left us for a reason. This is the reason."

She nodded to Pan, making a small gesture that encompassed them all.

"How, without such grief and sadness, could we ever truly value life? How can we value life when it's nothing to be afraid of losing? When you can just bring someone back, no harm done?"

Jari blinked and inclined her head.

"Are you saying you're glad dad died?"

Videl shook her head at that, decisively.

"Definitely not. I wish…I wish he could be with us still, you know that, but I think that this is part of what makes us human. This pain of loss."

Pan lifted her head slowly, looking up through dry, but red-rimmed eyes.

"It's more reason to give our best. It's another reason to fight and another reason to help each other as good as we can." she slowly said and Videl looked down to her, smiling.

"Exactly. Of course we hurt now and of course we will miss him, always, but now, we will redouble our efforts to prevent something like this from happening again." Videl said, looking back to Chira.

Chira nodded slowly a small smile coming to her lips.

"That's also what he would have wanted us to do."

Videl nodded at that, too, then waved Chira over. She embraced her and pulled her two daughters into a tight hug for a moment, closing her eyes. Chira enjoyed the warmth of her family, the strength that she could take from this bond. When they broke apart again, she stood up straight and inclined her head lightly.

"I'm going to be late for practice with Jari." she said, smiling.

Videl nodded and chuckled lightly.

"Go on then, and thank her from me, will you? Oh and if you see Bra-chan, tell her that Pan is crying for some more practice, too."

"What?" Pan blinked, surprised.

Chira laughed and nodded.

"Certainly, I will."

And she dashed out the door. A last glance backwards showed Pan pulling a face at her mother who laughed softly and poked Pan on both sides. Chira smiled, letting her sorrows drown in this image. It would not leave, not entirely, but it was quieted down to a bearable level, a level where she cold still enjoy such pictures, where she could enjoy life. After all, that was important to her, too. Not just fighting, not just the thrill of combat, but also the happiness and comfort of her family and friends.

* * *

Long after everyone else on board had gone to bed, Arisa was the only one left awake. She often wandered the ship at 'night' the artificial night set by the ship's computers to resemble an Earth rhythm of night and day. These last weeks, she had begun to take to training while the room was empty and no one was likely to watch her. Her body was slow to tire and she didn't need very much sleep to keep it going. One of the few advantages there was to it and even though she hated to admit it, some of the changes made to her would eventually help her and maybe the Defenders as a whole. 

For that to happen however, she needed to grow stronger. After she had spent the first weeks and months in solitude and fear of everyone around her except Ssiti, she had finally begun to open up to the others, if only slowly. Kavri was a good man, had helped her find some of her courage and had persuaded her to go out by herself from time to time. She had yet to really speak to the other crewmembers, but at least she didn't spend her days barricaded in her room anymore if she wasn't wandering around at Ssiti's side.

Of course, another reason why she didn't sleep that much were her nightmares.

They had lessened considerably during her time here, but still, often enough, she would wake up in the middle of the night, panting, sweating, terrified. She would dream of being back in captivity, of being back THERE, subject to their tests, cut open, examined, pumped full of drugs. She would feel the pains again, would feel the loneliness and the bitter sadness. She would see the eyes of the other girls and young women, would see the lack of hope, would see the blankness in them and would cry out in grief. She had woken up Ssiti quite a lot during their trip to Earth and afterwards, too. She guessed she would never be completely cured of these images, but maybe…maybe in helping the Defenders free the other girls, she would finally be relieved of these feelings of guilt.

Because that was the worst about all the dreams. She felt guilty.

No matter how often Ssiti calmly explained her that she was not to blame, that she shouldn't feel this way, she couldn't help it. She had escaped but had done nothing to help the others escape. She had had no chance to even do so, but in her dreams, sometimes they stared at her accusingly as she ran through the corridors containing their cells, though in reality, she had not done so. She couldn't have gotten out of the complex like that, she had only had one chance while she had been transferred from one lab to the next. She hadn't even SEEN the other girls while escaping, yet her dreams made it different. She should have helped them, should not have run away, a coward.

It was childish really, because she couldn't have done anything. Rationally speaking, she knew that and had understood it the first time Kavri had explained it to her. He knew the strength of the guards and he knew she would have been captured without a problem if she had gone back to help the others. She would still be in the Laboratories. Ssiti wouldn't have found her and wouldn't have taken her along.

Dreams were never rational however and that was another reason why she was alone in the training room, straining herself as she continued where she would leave off in the afternoon when her training time with Kavri was over.

She forced herself to continue until she collapsed from exertion at which point she would limp back to their quarters and slump down in bed, getting a few hours of sleep each night to allow her body to relax.

This night was a bit different, because as she returned towards her quarters, she heard a soft voice coming from further ahead in the ship. It must be somewhere on the observation deck, the place some people called a bar, where the Defenders took their meals and sometimes got together to drink and talk. It was a place to chat and relax and Arisa had so far not spent too much time there. She was still too insecure to just go out and talk to people.

Curious, Arisa walked towards there, the voice growing louder. She could hear it was a female voice, singing softly, sadly, but also hopefully. After a few more steps, she had identified Jari's voice and was surprised about that. She would not have thought that the girl, the fierce warrior, would have such a calm and gentle voice when singing.

She turned the last corner and saw Jari standing at the windows that looked out to the stars ahead. Her figure was outlined by the dim glow of the stars outside, her mane of spiky hair hiding her face. Arisa watched and listened, finding the song strangely alluring and soothing at the same time. Transfixed, she stood, listening to the words which seemed to flow so naturally from Jari's lips and she thought she could even hear a faint melody in the background though she was certain that was just her imagination. The words sent shivers down her spine and they at once made her blood boil, while in the next moment, they soothed her spirit and calmed her completely.

When the song finally ended, Arisa withdrew quietly, leaving Jari standing at the window, staring into nothingness. She quietly thanked the young woman for this song, but she did not want to intrude. The moment seemed too private, too personal for Arisa to grasp. She wondered where Jari had learned that song, where she would come upon something like that. She vaguely remembered hearing that Jari had not been born in the Tarisian Empire. Maybe she had learned this from her parents, which would also explain what Arisa saw just before leaving the observation deck. The last few words of the song, Jari had moved and Arisa had seen tears on her cheeks. Arisa was not sure why, though she, too felt deeply moved by the song which was another thing she did not really understand. Jari's voice had been clear and calm while singing the song, but the feelings and emotions the song stirred, where did they come from? Arisa had no idea, she had never felt this strongly for any kind of music, even though in the months since her flight, she had listened to any and all music she had found here.

But the words of the song were burned into her memory and she would never forget them again.

_"I dream of fields, of earth and fire, of ocean shores, of blood and bones. I feel my heart, beat with the pulse, the rush of joy when Kami called. I will not fear, nor run from war, I will feel the strength of old. Feel the strength, flowing through your heart, feel the blood, of what we are. When all is gone and ages told, we will not fail, we will not go. Sleep my child, dream of fields, of earth and fire, of ocean shores….of blood and bones."_

End Chapter 18 


	19. The Legend Reborn

**Chapter 19**  
**The Legend Reborn**

"_Who would have thought that the_  
_Super Sayajin Transformation was  
actually a backward step in  
evolution? It came as a surprise to  
everyone, including myself when I  
finally realized what the whole  
transformation process was  
about."_

_- Chronicles of a Warrior  
Vegetto_

**/ Approaching First Moon of Taris Prime – Defenders Ship /**

Vegetto stood on the bridge next to Ssiti who was on the piloting controls, organizing controlling their descent. He was in his "normal" form, opting to hide his "true" self until the last possible moment to keep an ace in the hole as it were.

The moon they were approaching was not particularily big, and it was not even remotely interesting in any way, except for the fact that their information, gathered from Kavri and confirmed by the freed Sayans, led them to believe that this was the place where the Tarisian Research Lab was located. Their initial scan of the rocky moon did not show anything, but that didn't have to mean anything. Their entry vector into the system had not allowed them to get a complete scan and they could not afford to make a pass to locate the station more precisely, because Taris' ship was close behind them and they needed every bit of time they could get before he landed as well.

The plan was to land and split up in their usual teams. Only this time, they would not hide and attack from the shadows, they would try to locate the station and begin to evacuate the Sayan girls as quickly as possible. For that reason. Ssiti and Arisa as well as the Sayans would stay with the ship and keep it in the air. Once one search-team had located the installation, they would try to get there quickly. Of course, the King would probably anticipate their plan by now. Vegetto was guessing that he would be smart enough not to lead them directly to the site, but it was an option he would keep open.

Kavri stepped to his side, looking at the screen while his hand came up to rest on Ssiti's shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

"The others are ready. As soon as we are low enough, we can open the hatches and get out quickly. Have we found a safe spot for hiding the ship yet?"

Ssiti shook her head slightly.

"Not yet. But that won't be a big problem I suppose. The King will be distracted by you going out for a while at least and pay no special attention to the ship. There will be some place I can hide the ship on this rock."

Vegetto nodded.

"If what we know of the King is any guide, he will not be interested in this ship. He's after us and he will hunt us, of that I am pretty sure."

Kavri shrugged and smiled.

"Fine by me. We won't need that much time to locate and evacuate the facility. I'm confident we can keep Taris and the others occupied that long at least."

Vegetto raised a brow and then chuckled.

"We're not here to fight the King, you do realize that, right? We can't afford to. For one, we do not know if he has his daughter with him. And for another, we are not strong enough to face him, yet."

Kavri chuckled and squeezed his wife's shoulder again, having noted the worried glance she had cast him, soothing her worries quickly.

"Don't worry, I know what our priority is and I will not forget it down there. Still, I am curious to see how you would fare against him now." he said.

Vegetto shrugged and narrowed his eyes somewhat, staring at the screen.

"Difficult to say. And I am not keen to find out until we have succeeded in freeing the girls. It might come down to a face-off down there however. We have a very small window of operation and if it takes us too long to find and enter the base, he will be on us quicker than we can blink."

He smiled slightly and turned to Ssiti.

"I'll trust things to your care here and get ready." he said, bowing lightly to her. She chuckled and nodded.

"Be careful out there." she said to both of them as she stood up briefly to place a kiss on Kavri's cheek.

The two warriors nodded. Kavri went beside Arisa who looked at him with a somewhat worried expression. He smiled and hugged her briefly, then ruffled her spiky hair before leaning down to whisper something into her ear. She nodded and smiled bravely, before Kavri straightened and walked to Vegetto's side and the two left the bridge together.

"Are you still comfortable with what I asked of you some time ago?" Vegetto asked as they walked through the corridors towards the exit hatches.

"You mean with fathering more offspring?" Kavri asked, inclining his head.

"Yes. You seem to have a very healthy and happy family now. Ssiti has her daughter and I am very glad she took to taking care of Arisa. Under her guidance, the girl has recovered from her ordeal much quicker than could have been expected otherwise and I understand and see that she sees you and Ssiti as her surrogate parents now…if not her real parents."

Kavri nodded slowly and looked ahead, his brows creased in thought.

"I know what you mean. I have thought about it, to be perfectly honest, without coming to a conclusion yet. After this is done, I will have to have a talk with Ssiti about it. I ask you to not ask this decision of me until then."

Vegetto smiled and nodded lightly.

"Perfectly understandable. I merely asked because I want to let you know that I do not want to pressure you into anything. You are not required to do anything and your decision should be made with the best for you and your family in mind. I might not have said that clearly enough before."

He offered an apologetic smile to Kavri who just shrugged again and nodded.

"I will keep your words in mind, thank you."

They rounded a corner then and ahead of them was the exit hatch where the others were already gathered. They all had their communication devices with them. They all looked ready. Vegetto's gaze travelled over the group of fighters, surveying each of them in turn with his quiet, unreadable gaze before he nodded more to himself than to anyone else. His gaze briefly lingered on Videl but she met his gaze with her own firmly and nothing in it indicated anything of the depression she had shown not so long ago. Sure, there was still sadness in her eyes, and who could blame her, but the furious determination was back as well, maybe even stronger than before. The same seemed to be true for Chira who stood beside Jari, determination in every inch of her posture.

He allowed a brief smile to touch his lips before he began to speak to them.

"So, this is it. You all know why we are here. You have seen what I have seen and know what I know of the so-called Research Facility on this moon. We are here to free the girls imprisoned there. I don't need to tell you why."

He paused briefly, allowing them to recollect the images in their minds which no doubt furthered their determination to strike swift and hard.

"We do not know the exact location of the outpost. I have assigned every group a search area. When you find the place, commence the attack immediately after telling us. We have no time to spare. If Taris arrives here while we are still in the process of attacking or evacuating, do NOT stop."

He breathed in a moment and then smiled.

"I am very proud of how strong you all have become, but our priority on this moon is to get the girls to safety. Therefore, if we are attacked, I will handle it alone. You will continue to rescue all the girls as quickly as you can. Once done with that, we will depart immediately. No delays, no heroic efforts, do you understand?"

The assembled fighters nodded, even though Vegetto saw a somewhat grumpy look on Jari's features. He smiled inwardly. Of course, she would be the first to jump into a fight, but he trusted her and especially Videl and Chira to keep her from doing that.

"All right. We do not know anything about this outpost, but we can expect it to be guarded as heavily as possible. Assume to be up against the Elite of the Tarisian forces, though I would say you will be more than a match for them. Still, conserve your strength, fight clever and use what you have learned. Fight as a team."

He smiled then, openly, his pride of them showing in his eyes and that smile.

"You have shown them so far that it is not a good idea to mess with us. Now continue and show them that they messed once too often."

They all nodded, features set, eyes hard. He nodded as well, walking to the hatch and placing his hand over the button to unlock and open it. A small monitor besides the door flickered to life and showed Ssiti, obviously concentrating on her piloting.

"We are now low enough for drop. I am levelling our descent. Feel free to jump as soon as you wish."

She chuckled lightly then and added.

"Don't forget to close the door behind you!"

The others, having listened to the conversation laughed lightly and Vegetto smiled, nodding, grateful for the little jibe of humour at this moment. Then he pushed the button and the hatch opened with a sharp hiss. Cold wind howled into the interior as he peered down and then nodded, stepping aside.

One by one, the teams came to the ramp and, without hesitating, jumped out, drifting for a moment before accelerating away to their designated search areas. Kavri went last and then Vegetto, too stepped out of the ship.

He was about to fly off, but he turned around once more, pushed a button on the inside. The door closed with another hiss while he drifted away from the ship and chuckled to himself before he, too turned and began the search for the facility.

* * *

**/ Taris' Ship – Approaching First Moon /**

"That was foreseeable." Taris said quietly as he looked at the frightened face of a scientist on the screen of the com terminal in his quarters.

"Sir, they have already found us and they are about to break through the outer perimeter of defenders. Your soldiers cannot stop them! We will be overrun soon!" the scientist complained.

"We are about to arrive on the planet. Under no circumstances can they be allowed to lay their hands on the test-subjects. Do you understand me? If they breach the second ring of defense, kill the subjects!"

The scientist blinked and then whitened.

"But, my lord, the results, all our work…" he came no further.

"Your work is irrelevant if you allow the subjects to be freed! If I hear one more word of protest from you, I shall kill you personally when I arrive!"

The scientist gulped and nodded furiously.

"O…of course my Lord! We will do as you in…."

Here the connection was broken and static filled the screen. Taris cursed violently and smashed the console with one strike before turning around and heading out of his quarters to the bridge.

This plan of action, he could have anticipated it sooner. Vegetto was not just the caring defender of the earth. He had other goals and for that, he needed Sayan females. It became clear to him, too clear and his rage grew as he continued to think about it. He had to stop this man before he could do any more damage than he had already done to the Empire and to him personally. He could not let his dream die, not when it was so close to completion as well. His daughter was growing stronger quickly and it would only take a bit longer for her to be strong enough to ensure that the Tarisian reign would not end even should he die but at the moment, she was still vulnerable to some. That Vegetto could destroy her and what was more, if he freed the Sayans and began to build up a new Empire for himself with the Sayan girls as breeding stock, that would endanger the supreme rule of Taris. He knew how strong Sayans could be, that was after all the reason why he had begun with the breeding program, to ensure that his line would benefit from their strengths. He could not let it happen that they should come to power again by themselves. It would be disastrous to say the least. It would be an enemy that could rise in power enough to threaten the entire Empire and in the end even overrun them. Everything he had built would be lost, everything he had fought for and everything he wanted to pass on to his daughter would be gone.

When he entered the control room, he looked around briefly, then fixed his gaze on the screen.

"Report!" he snapped.

Berelain turned and snapped to attention.

"Approaching the Research Station. ETA 5 Minutes."

Taris growled and nodded.

"Assemble the warriors and make sure to get out of the ship as soon as possible. Attack with everything you have. They cannot be allowed to get out with the prisoners!"

"Yes my Lord!" Berelain replied and hurried from the bridge to carry out his orders.

* * *

**/ Research Facility Alpha – First Moon of Taris Prime /**

"You head left, we go right!" Videl pointed in the relative directions as she, C18, Chira and Jari came to a T-Section within the complex. Breaking into the research facility had been easy enough and when the other warriors had arrived, they had overwhelmed the guards quickly but apparently not even Vegetto had suspected the sheer enormity of the facility. That would mean more searching. Their supernatural senses were useless in here. Apparently almost everything was protected by a dampening field, making it impossible to read individual power-signatures. So they had split up and had begun the tedious search through the entire facility, working level by level. Of course, there was still resistance in some places. The defenders had withdrawn to the deepest reaches of the complex apparently and Videl suspected that that was also where the prisoners would be held. Still, they had to make sure they didn't miss anyone, plus, this way they could deal with eventual traps now, instead of having to deal with them while getting the girls out.

Jari and Chira acknowledged her words with a brief nod and dashed off to the left down the long corridors while C18 and herself raced to the right. While they sped along, they kept an eye open for trouble and for eventual prisoners, but they found nothing. The stark white walls of the installations underlined the clinical image of the whole facility. There was nothing like comfort, not since the first level, where apparently the scientists themselves had lived and relaxed. There were dozens of labs, storage rooms, meeting rooms and so on and so forth, all held in the same clinical white, devoid of any kind of warmth. Videl also noticed that some monitors and computers were smashed or burned or even blasted into the ground. Obviously, the scientists had begun to destroy traces of their work. The entire installation was built like a big cylindrical object, burrowed deep into the crust of the moon with a circular corridor encasing all the central elements. Elevators were arrayed around the entire structure, allowing quick access from level to level. She had briefly studied the layout on a plan in the first level. The entire structure had 15 levels, at least according to the plan. Vegetto had taken a brief look at the layout, then ordered them to move out in their pairings, two pairs to every level as they descended. Meanwhile, Vegetto had chosen to remain behind in order to keep an eye out for their pursuers. He had looked rather grim at the prospect. The research facility being as big as it was, they would most certainly have to fight their way out, which was reason enough to worry, but he had just told them to go and be quick about it. He'd make sure they could get away, he had said and they trusted him.

Videl and C18 arrived at the elevator leading down to the 15th level. The last level. They waited a moment and seconds later, Jari and Chira appeared around a corner. Another moment later, the elevator doors sprang open and Pan, Bra, Trunks and Goten emerged. They had chosen to gather at this level once more before going to the last. They glanced at each other. Words were no longer needed between them, everyone knew what they had to do. Separating into their teams, they headed to four different elevators and went in, all of them travelling down.

Videl noticed that the last trip took a while longer than those before, indicating the last level was the biggest by far.

When the elevator doors opened, she realized that that was true in many ways. C18 and herself stepped out of the elevator to be greeted by a barrage of weapon-fire from the guards who had chosen this level as their last stand. The guards were not really a problem. It was quite obvious that Vegetto had chosen his timing and attacks well. There were only regular guards here, nothing which could truly hinder the Defenders. As they stepped out, both halted in their tracks, having deflected the first barrage of fire. Videl noticed her mouth hung open as she looked around. The entire 15th level was a massive dome-like cavern. The wall was smooth and metallic and in an irregular pattern, there were small energy barriers, cells Videl guessed. There were elevator-platforms which apparently operated on magnetic fields to reach these cells in case you couldn't fly by yourself. The dome was at least 100 meters in diameter and reached a height of 50 meters or more. The walls themselves were held in a dark grey in this structure, reflecting the multi-colored light from the different monitors and devices in the centre, casting dim shadows over the walls. The centre of the whole cavern was full of strange apparatures and tanks with a blueish liquid in them. There were medical tables arrayed around these machines, with devices which Videl did not like to think about. The scientists were huddled there and Videl felt a surge of hatred race through her, thinking about what these people had done to all these girls.

She was not the only one obviously. To her right she heard the yell of Jari as she charged forward, Chira hot on her heels. Trunks and Goten, Pan and Bra, they all raced towards the group in the centre. Videl was of a mind to join them, but C18 placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

"They will not have any problems with these guards and scientists. We should get to freeing the girls as quickly as possible so we don't lose time!" she said urgently.

Videl nodded and they separated racing to the different cells. Videl arrived at the first, glancing inside. She saw darkness at first, then, her eyes adjusting a little, she spotted a young girl crouched in the corner, shivering from head to toe, obviously deathly afraid. Videl looked around briefly, then looked around, trying to locate and identify the power-source of the force-fields. At that very moment, the force-field flickered, lights blinked and then died inside the entire hall. It was completely dark and Videl grumbled a moment, but her keen senses operated well enough, even in this relative darkness and the fields were now gone. She turned around and landed inside the cell.

"P…please…no…not again…" she heard the girl whisper with a hoarse voice.

Videl shook her head softly and approached her.

"I'm not here to do anything to you. I am here to get you out. We have come to rescue you."

Light came back on, even if sparingly. Apparently C18 had managed to override the force-field powerfeed, since they remained down.

"Come here…look." Videl said and stepped to the side, pointing to the exit of the cell.

The girl hesitated, fear such as Videl had seldom seen it in anyone etched into her otherwise quite lovely features. She crawled towards the exit slowly, keeping her distance to Videl, obviously still thinking this to be some kind of trap. Outside the battle was over. The guards all lay dead, as did the scientists. Videl blinked a moment, but then figured that most probably, Jari had simply lost control at the possibility of revenge. She narrowed her eyes slightly. They didn't deserve better in any case. The girl blinked and stared at the massacre down below them and then looked back to Videl slowly.

"Are…is this…real…we can get…out?" she whispered, disbelief in her voice.

Videl nodded.

"Yes, it's true, but we have to hurry. Taris is on his way and we have to get away from the Moon as soon as possible." She held a hand to stem further questions.

"Can you fly?" she asked, not willing or able to waste any more time.

The girl nodded slightly, hesitantly.

"But not very fast..:" she said quietly.

"Flying at all is better than nothing. Come with me, we still have to get the others."

They worked as quickly as possible, but it still took them the better part of 10 minutes to get all of the girls together and convinced that they were here to help. When they finally had everyone together, they divided the burden. Some of the girls would have to be carried, others at least steadied. Some were unconscious, which basically just helped them. So each of the defenders carried two girls on their shoulders while the able girls ran or flew with them as they headed to the elevators. Jari turned around as everyone was inside the elevators and, setting one of the girls down briefly, extended one hand and released a volley of deadly energy bolts which impacted against the walls, the instruments and machines, creating havoc and causing chain reactions which began to shake the ground beneath them. She picked up the girl again and joined the rest as the elevators began their ascent.

* * *

"Now I have you!" Taris yelled as he and his 1st Circle Warriors descended upon the Research Facility and found Vegetto calmly awaiting them. He was, as usual, wearing that annoying smirk but Taris knew, he could not leave this time. His precious crew was still inside the facility. They could not have gotten away undetected and so, Vegetto would be forced to face them. Now, he would finally get his revenge. 

"Ah…yes, so it would appear." Vegetto merely replied when Taris settled down in front of him. The other warriors kept a respectful distance. They knew Taris wanted this one for himself.

"Don't act so cocky. You know as well as I do that you can't defeat me! Even if you DID stand a chance, you couldn't hope to defeat all of us! This will be the end of your little revolution!"

Vegetto smiled pleasantly and shrugged softly.

"That remains to be seen, doesn't it? Who knows, I might have a few tricks up my sleeve. So far, your insights into my battle-prowess have not served you well, now have they?"

Taris snarled and clenched his fists. The jibe had been well placed and Vegetto saw that Taris was close to exploding. He narrowed his eyes slightly and sent a mental message to Kavri, directing him to oversee the evacuation. He would distract the Kind long enough for them to flee. Kavri hesitated briefly, but then simply returned a mental nod.

"Well, enough talk." Vegetto smiled pleasantly as he powered himself up to the third level, hair lengthening and turning golden, the corona of energy around him springing to life and crackling with power. Taris snarled and didn't waste any more time. He charged in, determined not to give Vegetto the advantage of the first attack this time. The two fighters met in midair and where their fists connected, lightning arced out, energy swirled and the earth around them began to tremble with the sheer power released by the two. Then suddenly, no human eye could see them anymore, but the effects of the high-speed battle could be felt for miles around. The earth shook violently, energy-discharged crashed into walls and mountains, sending them tumbling into the ground. The very air of the moon seemed to be charged with the excess energy of the fight. Taris and Vegetto gave no quarter and it quickly became clear to anyone watching, that Vegetto was purely on the defensive. The King no longer held back, o longer toyed, but gave everything and Vegetto was barely able to defend himself against the assaults. He was pushed back, forced into the absolute defensive and even then, he couldn't avoid being hit. The battle between the two lasted, Vegetto being able to at least hold his own for this time. After another vicious attack by the King he was thrown back, tumbling through the air, catching himself just before crashing into the Research Facility. He breathed slowly, eyeing the King as he hovered above him, obviously he was sensing victory already and Vegetto could not blame him. So far he had not been able to even hurt the King once. Blood dribbled from his lips over his chin and he had a few minor wounds, but all in all, he had managed to avoid serious injury from Taris' blows. Still, he would not be able to hold out this way much longer. He gazed to the entrance of the research facility and then finally, Kavri's voice echoed in his mind.

"We are near the exit." he simply said.

Vegetto nodded to himself. Taris raised a brow as he slowly descended towards Vegetto.

"You still have something to smile about? Even when you are about to be destroyed? I sense your friends near the exit. They will not get far. My 1st Circle will take care of them."

Vegetto chuckled slightly and shrugged.

"We will see about that, won't we?" he repeated his words from earlier. He closed his eyes a moment and then focussed his energy and his anger. Energy began to swirl around him, his corona of golden energy thickening slightly to form a sort of mist which seemed to seep into him. Taris raised a brow, then smirked slightly.

"A little lightshow won't help you now either. I will end this!"

He extended a hand and summoned energy to his palm, ready to blast this pesky Sayan to pieces, but he did not get to it. Suddenly, energy seemed to explode from Vegetto. With a guttural yell of fury, the Sayan threw back his head. A blinding golden light enveloped his body entirely until Taris had to avert his gaze. The waves of energy washed over him, causing the ground beneath them to split and crack. Taris was thrown back by the second wave of power emanating from Vegetto. He caught himself higher in the air, pushing against the forces radiating from the Sayan and forcing himself to look, his features frozen in shock. More and more power seemed to concentrate in and around Vegetto. His body could no longer be seen in the blinding light and then suddenly, another shockwave blasted away from Vegetto, levelling the ground around him for miles and miles around.

The light died slowly and allowed Taris to finally see his opponent again. Only, he was completely different from before. He stared, not quite comprehending what had happened. It was Vegetto hovering there, but he was different from the man before. His eyes, golden and sparkling, surrounded by a thin silvery line looked up to him with what seemed to be the fury of an entire race. His hair was now shorter, albeit still messy and it was a dark shade of blue, almost black. His skin had turned darker, and if Taris saw right, that was fur covering his exposed upper body, silvery, glistening fur.

Vegetto smiled grimly and flexed his hand slowly, looking up at Taris still.

"So…you wanted to finish it quickly, yes? I'm afraid your schedule will once more, have to be corrected."

Taris was still too surprised to react. Vegetto vanished and reappeared right in front of Taris, his elbow slamming into the man's face with brutal force, sending him careening backwards. Vegetto did not stop and followed the King, attacking again and again. The punches and kicks resonated through the atmosphere of the planet, such power was in his attacks now. Every punch caused the earth to tremble, especially when Taris finally managed to defend himself again. The 1st Circle Warriors stared, awed and shocked at the two warriors which battled above them. None of them could have imagined such a fight before now.

* * *

Kavri, too was amazed for a moment. Finally, Vegetto showed his power and it was breathtaking. He would have loved to watch the fight longer, but he knew he had a duty. 

"Everyone. This is our chance. Go now!" he yelled.

The other Defenders were torn from their surprised awe and nodded, hurrying out of the building and taking off towards their space-ship. Even then, as they flew off, they cast occasional glances back to the battle of the Titans behind them. Kavri made sure all of them got away without the 1st Circle noticing, who were still too caught up in the fight to do anything but stare. Kavri took the rear guard of their group, eyeing the fight as they fled. It was clear that Vegetto's powered had grown far beyond what anyone had thought possible, but Kavri still saw that slowly but surely, Taris was gaining the upper hand. Not as quickly or as clearly as before, but gradually, Vegetto was forced into the defensive.

"So even like this, you are still not strong enough for him. I see what you meant…" he muttered to himself.

They picked up speed and dashed away from the fighting. He cursed and tried to get the others to fly faster. Vegetto would hold a while, but not forever and they needed him.

Vegetto was fighting with all he had and still it was not enough. In the old days, that would have been frustrating, but now his mind analysed the situation and obviously, his previous assessment of the situation had been right. They needed a little more time and a little more strength. They needed to prepare better than they had and he would have to grow further in strength. He blocked an energy attack, deflecting it to the side, then his arm shot up just in time to intercept a kick.

Time, time was of the essence, but they had so little. With enough time, the new Sayans could probably take this one out easily. But there was not enough time. Taris would not allow them to flee forever. Indeed, it had been a stroke of luck they had been able to pull all of this off so far. Now, with Taris really angry, it wouldn't go on like this for long. He suspected they had one more travel period, then Taris would catch up and make sure they would have to fight to the end. Right now, that would probably mean disaster. Especially if Taris brought his daughter into the game as well. They were lucky enough she was not here at this moment, and again, that was a stroke of luck that would not hold.

Another kick blocked, another punch dodged. Backflip away, energy blast to distract and prepare the defense again.

"They have arrived. Lift-Off procedure in progress." Ssiti's voice came into his ear.

He did not show any reaction, but continued to fight. Mentally, he readied himself to leave. He was on losing ground right now. No reason to weaken himself further by prolonging this fight more than was necessary.

It was then that one of the 1st Circle noticed the lift-off. Berelain suddenly yelled up to her King.

"My Lord! They are fleeing!"

"What?" Taris whirled around to the bright spec that was the defenders ship as it rose. Using this distraction, Vegetto slammed his foot into the King's back, then his knee into the man's ribs and finally put his hand on the Kings side, blasting him away with a violent wave of energy. The King, surprised, sailed away from a moment before he could catch himself. That moment was all Vegetto needed.

"Until our next meeting, Taris." he said, and vanished into thin air.

Taris stared at the spot where Vegetto had just been, then back to the ship. His fists trembled. His entire body shook.  
"You imbeciles….get to the ship, launch, do anything to overtake or intercept them. If you fail me one more time like you have failed me today, you will all be wishing you had never been born."

His voice was a coarse whisper, drenched in hatred and anger. The warriors scrambled to obey and Taris floated towards his ship, barely able to contain and control himself. Once again the man had tricked him. The third time now.

There would be no fourth.


	20. Choices for an Empire

Author's Note: I seem to be writing many apologies, eh? Well, here is another one. I'm sorry for this chapter not making it up any sooner. I hope all of you still enjoy it and I promise I will finish this story. ;) Now, have fun.

**Chapter 20**

**Choices for an Empire**

"_How can you ask someone,  
to give up all, his own self,  
even if in your own eyes,  
the goal justifies the means?"_

_High Warrior Kavri  
Personal Journal_

**/ Defender's Ship, 5 days after breakout /**

Ssiti sat inside the common room surrounded by the girls they had picked up in the research outpost. Research outpost. That was an irony in itself. Lab of horrors would fit much better, at least in Ssiti's mind. Arisa was there, too, the kinship between her and the other Sayan girls who had been abused in the laboratory quite noticeable. The difference was, Arisa was by now rehabilitated. She had learned to live, to laugh again, with the help of Ssiti herself and of course, all the other people on this ship and back on Earth. It had been a long process, beginning when they had first left Taris Prime, almost a year ago now and not quite ending yet. Now there were many more such girls. They all looked hopeful, but also afraid. They were free, but probably, they were not yet ready to accept it fully. No one would hurt them here, another thing they didn't fully accept. They were afraid, of anyone really. Ssiti had managed to gain some of their trust at least after hours and hours of talking. Arisa had taken her post at the bridge most of the last five days, since she had to devote all her time to convincing the girls that they were in safety.

Still, Ssiti liked the work. Every little inch of trust she could coax out from the girls was a small victory in itself and she did manage. Some of the girls had even managed to smile, even if the haunted expression in their eyes remained. Ssiti knew that this expression would never quite fade. The horrors of their past would remain with them and of course in a way, that was good. It would help them focus on the future and on a future without the one who had brought all of this upon them. Vegetto had asked her to make it clear who was responsible and again, Ssiti was amazed at how many aspects of a personality the man could have inside himself. He was caring towards the girls, thoughtful and honestly anxious for their well-being, but on the other hand, he never lost sight of his goal, to build the Sayan race again. It was, as he said, imperative, that the girls would retain or, obtain, depending on the situation, their fighting spirit, their natural spirit.

She sighed slightly and smiled to the girls who were listening to her talking. She was recounting the events that led to all of this, a story she had received from various sources. The story began at the dawn of the Sayan's themselves and continued on through their downfall, their near-extinction and the beginning rise, which was happening now. Much of it was new to Ssiti as well, but Vegetto had taken the time to tell her all he had seen and experienced in the vision granted to him by the Great Kaio.

The girls were eager listeners. They were drinking in her every word about their ancestry because it gave them what they needed most. An identity, something they could identify themselves with. Something which had been utterly lacking in their lives so far.

So Ssiti gave them what they wanted and when she couldn't Arisa took over her part, spinning the tales she had been told during her time with the Defenders.

* * *

Vegetto watched the circle of girls surrounding Ssiti with a slight smile on his lips. Kavri's wife was a perfect counsellor, a surrogate mother first for Arisa, now for all these girls. She helped hold together the sanity of everyone aboard by just being there and listening to everyone if they needed to talk. He was a bit worried she herself would sooner or later fold under the stress, but so far there were no signs of something like that. On the contrary, she seemed to come alive when presented with the girls, presented with the challenge of helping them. Of course, he had seen the same kind of dedication and enthusiasm when she had helped Arisa get out of her shell. The woman had worked wonders on the insecure, quiet Sayan girl and by now, she was almost as carefree as if those horrible things had never happened to her. Almost. 

He had asked Ssiti to keep the memories of what had been done to them alive, mostly because he believed that forgetting was not a way to solve things. They'd have to confront and come to terms with their past, like he had and like Arisa had.

"Satisfied?"

He didn't need to turn, he had sensed Kavri's presence long before the man had joined his side. He nodded slightly and a faint smile touched his lips.

"Definately. You have a wonderful wife Kavri."

The Sayan nodded lightly at that and eyed his beloved quietly, sitting with the other girls.

"She's got a natural talent for handling such things it seems. At first i thought she was just so enthusiastic because I couldn't give her the children she wanted, but it seems this behaviour extends beyond Arisa."

Vegetto chuckled lightly and inclined his head.

"Aye, I believe she could well be considered the -mother- of the entire crew."

He chuckled again but quickly grew serious again, turning to face Kavri.

"It's good that you are here, we have to discuss something."

Kavri raised a brow, but turned around with Vegetto and left the common room quietly. The two walked along the corridors in silence and Vegetto led him to the briefing room. Once they both were inside, he locked the door and sat down at the center table, leaning back and closing his eyes briefly. Kavri sat down as well, idly wondering what Vegetto wanted to talk about. Obviously, it was something that bothered, or at least worried him. He knew the man good enough by now to catch a hint or two about his thoughts, even though the superwarrior was still exceptionally good at hiding his feelings and thoughts behind his features. It was nearly impossible to read him fully, but if you were alert, you could catch a hint or two about which way his thoughts were going.

´The silence lasted for a moment, but finally, Vegetto spoke.

"We've seen now that I cannot beat Taris by myself. That alone could possibly be corrected by me spending some more time training, but we have to consider other factors as well. There are still 1st Circle Warriors left, plus, and that is the most important thing, his daughter. She's the one who really worries me. If she was able to defeat Gohan at the full extent of his power, she must be very strong. With her at his side, Taris could swipe us away as we are now."

He paused there and let the words sink in. Kavri nodded briefly, accepting it for truth. Vegetto was not a man who underestimated himself or his crew. After a few moments, he continued.

"The Great Kaio gave me a little something when we last talked." he said and with obvious disdain, he put his closed hand on the table. Another moment passed before he sighed lightly, opened his fist and withdrew the hand. Two earrings were now visible on the table. Kavri recognized them. They were the same kind of earrings Vegetto himself wore. If he remembered the story Vegetto had told him correctly, those were the so-called Potara, the earrings that allowed the permanent Fusion of two beings. He looked at the Potara a moment, realizing what Vegetto was saying, what he meant. He gazed back to the superwarrior who sat there, eyes closed, his features showing a mixture of determination and distress. Obviously, he was not pleased by his own suggestion.

"You think this is the only way?" Kavri asked quietly.

Vegetto slowly opened his eyes, fixed them on the Potara and nodded slowly.

"We can't outrun Taris forever. He's catching up and sooner or later, he will be able to destroy the ship and cut off our escape. When that happens, we'll have no choice but to confront him. Win, or die."

He pondered a moment, lifting his right hand to brush away a strand of his spiky hair from his forehead, only to have it fall right back into place.

"I can't force this on anyone. I know too well how it can ruin a life, how you have to start from zero. But it is an option, a last resort option we have to address and discuss."

Kavri frowned briefly and inclined his head.

"I'm not sure I like it, but I see your logic and I see that it might be necessary."

Vegetto sighed and nodded quietly, pushing the Potara's a bit away from him.

"We have to decide who is the best pairing. We should consider a few things. Power, of course, but that's not the only thing. Who would you think are the best matches?"

Kavri leaned back and pondered this question a moment. He thought about the people in their team, thought about the possible match-ups and who would be likely. He forced himself to leave any kind of emotions out of these considerations for the time being.

"Obviously, there is Trunks and Goten. They use the Fusion in their regular fighting style, if only the limited one. There would be Videl and C18, who fight well alongside each other and there is of course, Jari and Chira or Bra and Pan."

He listed his choices by raising a finger for each.

Vegetto nodded and smiled faintly.

"I get the same possibilities. Now, let us analyze these closely. Our first possibility. Trunks and Goten. You have seen them when fused, you have seen their fighting style and their behavior. What do you think?"

Kavri nodded slowly, seeing Vegetto's point.

"The fusion is too chaotic. Unpredictable and unstable. If this were to last forever, it could create more problems than solve."

Vegetto chuckled and nodded.

"Exactly. So I would not exactly put them as first choice. Next, we have Videl and C18. Your thoughts on that?"

Again, Kavri pondered a moment, tapping his fingers against his chin in thought.

"There are two things I don't quite like about that pairing. For one, there's the cyborg factor. We do not know how that will affect the fusion. The other, is Videl's slumbering power. We have seen what it can lead to when unleashed uncontrolled. It might be that with C18, she'll have more control, but it could just as well be that she'll have even less."

Vegetto nodded and inclined his head.

"We do not know how cybernetics affect the fusion, or if it affects it at all. I do believe however, that C18, being the logical being she is, would help Videl gain more control over her sleeping abilities. Still, the risk of something going wrong due to her cybernetic nature is not deniable. Which brings us to our next pairings, Jari and Chira or Pan and Bra."

Kavri sucked in air between his teeth and shook his head.

"They are barely out of childhood. True, the potential is fabulous, at least when we look at Jari and Chira, but can we even ask such a thing of them?"

Vegetto sighed and stood up, beginning to pace the room slowly.

"I have pondered the same thing for a long while. From one point of view, I agree with you. They are barely adults and the Fusion would rid them off their individual futures. This is in itself a crime, but it's a crime regardless who we would ask. From another side, they don't have a full-fledged life yet, their future is still very long and they have more time to adapt to the change and still live a fulfilling life."

Kavri narrowed his eyesbriefly.

"That is only if they manage to combine their two personalities as well as you did. Is that guaranteed?" he asked.

Vegetto shook his head.

"But that is the same for all of them. I cannot begin to tell you what an awful process it might be, I'm just saying that it might be easier on someone young, someone who's personality isn't as...defined as that of an adult and from that point of view, those two are the best choice."

He sighed and shook his head again.

"Regardless of the choice we make, it's a bad choice. It's a bad or worse choice really. I don't want to force them, and I will not. We should present them with the situation, we should explain to them what a Fusion means, or rather, I should do that, and they will have to decide for themselves. But we can't afford to let those be forgotten." he said and pointed to the Potara's on the table.

Kavri shook his head slightly.

"That doesn't make it any better. You yourself said it took you years to form your personality anew and that it was a long and even painful process, not to talk about the loss and suffering it caused your families."

Vegetto nodded again and then sighed, stopping his pacing and leaning back against a wall.

"I know all that. As I said, I won't force anybody to endure this, even if it might be our only chance of survival. But we have to talk to them about it. I don't even want to convince them of doing it, really. I just want them to know the possibility is there. Sadly..."

He frowned, stopping in midsentence and shaking his head.

"You think they will do it, right?" Kavri asked quietly.

"I'm almost absolutely sure. They are both so much warriors that they remind me of my old two parts a lot, even if they are not of the same personality. They enjoy fighting, they crave battle, they love a challenge and they are willing to give everything for the fight if it means protecting those they care for. Honestly, I don't think they will even think twice about it, which is why we must stress the difficulties of the whole process. Jari and Chira are strong, and I am sure they can survive and grow in the process, but we have to make sure they don't do this lightheartedly."

Kavri nodded and inclined his head, then walked over to the com station.

"I'll call them in. Better we talk about this sooner than later."

* * *

Chira grinned playfully as she stood in her quarter on board the ship and looked at her friend, who in turn looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a dress of all things and Chira couldn't quite hide the silly grin that had appeared on her lips when she had first seen it. She had been the one to propose this, but she hadn't thought it would be such a strange sight. It wasn't so much the dress itself, a black dress which left the shoulders free and hugged the Sayan girls figure a bit too tightly since the dress was actually Chira's. It was more the look on Jari's face and the way she carried herself. While she usually showed self-confidence and pride, a strong walk and her head held high, now she seemed totally lost and uncertain. Of course, Chira's laughing did not help the matter. 

"This was a stupid idea!" she grumbled and shook her head. "I look ridiculous."

"No!" Chira quickly said and laughed. "Sorry, it's just, you are so out of place in this dress. It looks nice, it really does, but I don't think you are one to wear dresses."

Jari shot her a mock-angry look and grinned.

"It's not like I wanted to. That was your idea after all."

Chira grinned and shrugged.

"I know, but hey, that combat-suit is starting to look old on you. Besides, don't you want some choice when it comes to clothing."

Jari shrugged and reached behind herself to open the dress and let it fall to the floor carelessly. One thing Chira had initial difficulties getting used to was the girl's openness in such things. Having spent most of her life alone, the finer points of social interaction had not been quite as imprinted on her and this habit of hers was one thing left over. She just didn't care if her friends saw her naked. In the beginning, she had even done that when boys were around, which had led to some open-mouthed staring on the boys part, but luckily Chira had been able to make her stop that at least. As far as she knew, she herself was the only one still receiving such treatment and she couldn't quite decide if she should feel honored or embarrassed.

"I'm quite fine with the stuff I have. Besides, I don't see you wearing these things." Jari said, pointing to the dress which now lay on the bed.

"Well, not here certainly, but I did wear it at some points. On some parties which I had to go to, but to be quite honest, I didn't like those parties much."

Jari smirked and reached for her usual clothes, putting on the black jumpsuit and stretching comfortably.

"Ahhh, much better. So, what kind of parties were those?"

Chira shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs and clasping her hands behind her head.

"Oh school parties mostly. They were really rather ridiculous. All the girls went woozy about some boy or other, but most of the boys in my school were jerks and weaklings. There were one or two nice ones, but well, they were weak, too and I just can't think of going out with someone where I have to be afraid that I'll crush his hand if I let my concentration slip for a second."

Jari laughed and shook her head.

"But that must have been true for everyone, no? I mean, there are not many Earthlings who could compare to you in strength, are there?"

Chira shook her head and smirked slightly.

"Not many, yeah. I think my mother is about the only one."

She paused briefly and pondered for a moment. Sighing softly, she remembered her mothers look in that last battle. How she had changed, how she had been so different from the Videl Chira knew and loved. The change had been frightening and she dearly hoped that it would not be like this always when she fought. She wasn't entirely sure that the Videl she had seen that day was on their side at all, or on anyones side.

"Hey." Jari poked Chira lightly and inclined her head.

"Don't worry so much. Your mother will be alright. She's a very strong woman, not only when it comes to combat, you know that, right?"

Chira laughed softly and nodded. If it weren't so comforting, it would probably scare her how easily Jari could read her, how she always seemed to know what she was thinking about. Ever since the two met, they had spent a lot of time together and they were, according to Vegetto, the Defender's best team when it came to fighting, even better than Trunks and Goten, even though they did not practice the Fusion technique. She blinked, looking to Jari and for a brief moment, she wondered what it would feel like to be fused with her.

At that moment, the com-link beeped lightly.

She sighed and leaned over to push the button for the incoming message.

"Chira, Jari, we need to talk to you in the Briefing Room, ASAP."

Vegetto's quiet voice conveyed all the urgency of his request and Jari and Chira both almost jumped up.

"On our way!" she replied and shut the link down, looking to Jari as they both left the room.

"What do you think this is about?" she asked.

"I have no idea but judging from his voice, it's not something pretty."

**/ Taris Prime – Palace /**

Taris stood in front of a large med-tank, his gaze staring through the hazy green liquid that surrounded the figure inside. He was alone, the room was darkened and only illuminated by the ghostly lights from the control panels. He stared because he was uncertain, uncertain of how to proceed. He knew that there was a big battle ahead. Vegetto's newfound power was stunning and even though Taris would have been able to defeat him that last time, he was certain the man still had an ace up his sleeve. So far, it had always been like this and if he managed to leap in power again, Taris would be in real trouble, with or without his 1st Circle. That had him coming back to his daughter and to the potential she still had inside of her, right now locked away securely by his own scientists. He alone had the means of unlocking that power, that potential and it was now the time to decide if he wanted to do that. He knew that if he did so, she might go completely berserk, without recognition of anything around her, only the lust to destroy. The scientists had told him that it would be dangerous to deactivate this last barrier before she had actually reached the age she looked to be. She was still a child in so many ways and children were not supposed to handle so much power. Adding to that, the mixed heritage and the genetic alterations, Sirania was as unstable as any one person could be.

He sighed slightly and walked to a small panel beside the tank and began to input a series of commands. The chain of symbols flashed on the screen now in a deep crimson, threatening, warning him of the consequences of his actions.

Was there another way to guarantee his victory? Was this -any- guarantee of his victory? After all, if Sirania indeed went over the edge, she would not halt from destroying him and his Empire as well.

"Better to let the universe die, than let it be ruled by someone else but me and my blood." he whispered to himself.

Still, his finger hovered over the final key in the sequence, uncertainty not driven out yet. What if Vegetto didn't have an ace up his sleeve? What i, on the next battlefield, the King could simply kill the man and the whole episode would be over? If that happened and Sirania went unstable then, everything would have been in vain.

His finger lowered itself gradually, but then he shook his head.

There was no room for if's. He had to win, they had to win, to defeat and kill this Sayan and to keep him from spawning a new Sayan Empire into the Universe. His eyes narrowed slightly as he gingerly pushed the last key and the sequence was completed.

A low hiss escaped from the tank and he could see a crimson liquid flowing in one of the many tubes attached to Sirania's naked body. It slipped right into her head. The whole procedure took a few seconds only. He kept a glance at the readouts of the systems monitoring Sirania but he could not detect any change. He frowned slightly, but then again, he knew that this had only removed the barrier itself. She would have to step past the threshold herself, would have to find her own power and use it.

He stepped back and looked up into the features of his daughter and a slight smile played over his features.

It didn't really matter what happened to him anymore. He had achieved quite enough in his life and now he was certain that his place would be taken by his own daughter and nobody else. If she found her power, there was no force in the galaxy that could stop her, of that he was certain.

"You are the future my daughter." he whispered softly.

* * *

Sirania dreamt. 

She liked to dream, because she could do anything she wanted there, things that she refrained from in reality because they would maybe upset her father. She could wade through seas of blood from her enemies, kill, slaughter entire planets to her liking. She could use and abuse anyone she wanted to, without getting scolded by her father.

Lately, her dreams centered around the events of a few weeks back, on that planet where she had found her lovely plaything. The fight had been heart-warming, a challenge in a way, even if he had not been able to seriously hurt her before she landed the finishing blow. Still, she had had her fun with him and she still took pleasant thoughts from it.

Suddenly, something invaded her mind. She was prepared to repel it with force, but she hesitated because it was nothing bad, or it didn't feel like it. Somehow, she felt as though she grew a lot lighter, even in her dreams. She thought she saw her beloved father standing in front of her, smiling a proud smile at her, the one she craved for so much. He spoke a few words she could not make out. Was she conscious again? Or was this part of the dream?

A moment later, the image of her father disappeared and she once again found herself in blissful dreams. Her consciousness soon changed to enjoying these dreams, ignoring the question of what had happened. She returned to her latest victim's side and had her fun with him, toying with him, making him scream and beg for more of her attentions, or less of the pain, she liked both sounds. She was beside him and on top of him, she was all about him, hurting him, loving him, teasing him and destroying him as she saw fit, over and over again. Images of his beautiful eyes filled her mind, those eyes clouded with hatred at her, with despair and pain, then with adoration, with begging and love, too, everything at once, one after the other. A crazy cyclone of emotions whirled through her as she relived her fun in those dreams and added new layers of pleasure for herself. Unconsciously, she licked her lips.

Maybe she could do a few of these things awake without her father getting too angry at her.

**  
**


	21. Beginning of the End

**Chapter 21  
Beginning of the End**

"_Sometimes, you can do naught but let your heart decide for you."_

_- Queen of the Sayan Empire  
To Become One_

**/ Defender's Spaceship, ETA 3 weeks /**

Chira and Jari arrived at the door to the Briefing Room, looking at each other with a somewhat worried look. They still had not forgotten the urgent undertone in Vegetto's voice, nor had they forgotten the events of the last battle. They could only imagine that, whatever Vegetto wished to tell them, would not exactly be a good story. Then again, maybe he had a new plan, one that would require their help?

Again, the two looked at each other, then shrugged their shoulders simultaneously.

Jari reached for the buzzer, but before she could touch it, the door slid open and Kavri looked down to them, nodding slightly.

"Come on in." he said, looking as neutral as ever, features kept tightly under control, though he did give them a brief smile.

Chira and Jari entered, noticing Vegetto sitting at the centre table with his eyes closed. He was in his new shape, the silvery fur seeming to bristle slightly when he opened his eyes and turned to look at them. Those golden eyes unsettled them a bit, since where Kavri was difficult to read, Vegetto was downright impossible.

"Uh...you called for us?" Jari asked.

Vegetto nodded and motioned to the chairs at the table while Kavri walked to the side of the room to lean against the wall, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Jari shrugged slightly and stepped to the table, sitting down while Chira joined her. The two girls leaned back in their chairs, Vegetto's gaze flicking over them, seeming to pierce into them, analyse and assess them. There was a long moment of silence, a kind of uncomfortable silence, where Jari and Chira shifted a bit on their chairs, nervously.

"You have seen my fight against Taris." Vegetto said quietly all of a sudden and Chira nearly jumped when the silence was finally broken. It was not a question, merely a statement of facts, so neither Jari nor Chira chose to answer.

"You have noticed that I alone will not be able to stop and defeat him. Even with all of us combined, Taris will be a difficult nut to crack and he still has the 1st Circle and his kid."

Jari and Chira both nodded. This was all old news. They had discussed the odds at great length during their training and in their free time, trying to find a strategy that would help them defeat their enemy. A rather frustrating thing. In the end, it came down to them simply giving their best and hoping it would be enough. Neither Jari nor Chira were really afraid of the fight ahead, actually, both looked forward to it, but the suspect of all of their friends dying did unsettle them and they wished there was something they could do to increase the odds.

"There is something you can do..." Vegetto began as if to answer their thoughts and both of them immediately straightened up, a slight smile on their lips, but Vegetto's eyes and gaze let that smile vanish quickly. Without saying anything, he put his closed hand onto the table, opened it and withdrew it again, leaving two shimmering earrings behind. Jari did not immediately recognize them, but Chira's eyes widened considerably. Jari noted the look of shock on her friend's features and then it clicked in her mind, too, seeing those earrings on the table and the same ones dangling from Vegetto's ears. She swallowed, audibly and shifted back a a bit, understanding what it apparently was that Vegetto was proposing.

"You...you mean..." Chira began, but Vegetto stopped her with a light gesture of his hand.

"Let me explain, please. This is no demand, no order and not even a request." he began.

"First of all, we want you both to understand that you are not required to do this, nor will we really ask you to do it. We will explain the situation, we will tell you what we believe will happen and I will explain to you the effects of the Fusion and answer any questions you might have."

Chira nodded slightly and Jari managed a brief nod as well, which Vegetto took as a sign to continue.

"These Potara's are a chance, a possibility. We know that at the moment, we probably cannot defeat Taris and we certainly can't defeat Taris and his daughter, plus the remaining 1st Circle. Even if, as we hope, one of the 1st Circle will turn on Taris, it won't be enough. Especially Sirania will be a huge problem once she arrives on the Battlefield. We don't have anyone in our ranks who could match her for power and I can't handle both of them at once."

Vegetto sighed and smirked briefly before he crossed his arms and inclined his head, looking to the two of them.

"In any case, we still have a bit of time to prepare, but both Kavri and me doubt that we can advance as significantly, not enough to counter both of them. Videl...is unstable and we don't know how far her power extends. It might even be dangerous during a battle and we can't guarantee that she has a chance against the daughter."

Chira swallowed slightly at that, remembering her mother in the last fight against a 1st Circle Warrior, how she had been so alien, so cruel and brutal. Indeed, she was not sure if she would want to fight alongside such a creature, or if her mother was even capable of making a difference between friend and foe in that state of mind. Then again, she had registered Chira's voice and listened to it back then.

"Be that as it may", Vegetto continued. "We have come to the conclusion that the Potara's are an Option we cannot ignore. Kavri and I have gone through the possible pairings on the ship and we have arrived at the conclusion that you two are the ones who would be the best carriers of these things."

Chira nodded slowly. As soon as the Potara's had been on the table, it had been clear that this was the whole point of their coming here. She bit her lip and looked to Jari who stared at the Potara's as if in trance.

"Why us?" Chira asked finally after a long moment of silence.

"Many reasons." Vegetto looked up as Kavri spoke from the side, nodding to his second-in-command to continue. The Sayan pushed himself away from the wall and began to quietly walk to the table while raising a hand to count on his fingers.

"One, you are among the strongest in the group. With Gohan gone, you've surpassed everyone else, except maybe Videl, whose new power still remains a mystery."

He stopped at the table, looking at them quietly while he continued.

"Two, you have trained together extensively. You have grown into a fighting team matching Goten and Trunks in their best times and thus know each other well, something we both believe would make the Fusion process easier."

He sighed and then raised a third finger.

"Third, you are still very young. On one side, that means you both still have a long Life ahead of you, but on the other, it means you will have a lot less trouble adjusting and shaping yourself into one personality."

Jari and Chira nodded slowly, but there was anxiety and even a bit of fear in their eyes.

"Why can't we practice the other Fusion?" Chira asked, quietly.

Vegetto spoke again this time, leaning forward a bit.

"Because this battle will not be decided so quickly as far as we can tell, plus, the other Fusion does not give you as much power as this one. Plus, if you are distracted in the process, it will only give our enemies more chances to strike hard at us. Remember, you only have about 15 minutes in that version of the Fusion and even with the power I believe you will hold then, you won't be able to beat Sirania in that time. Also, experience tells us that so far, the Dance-Fusion has only been enough to defeat an enemy once."

He sighed deeply and shook his head.

"You see, no one wants you to do this, I least of all because I know what it means for you, what it would do to you. That's why I will be blunt and honest here and explain to you in all detail what the Fusion means."

He smirked softly and looked to the two.

"To Fuse means to become one, not just in body, but in mind, too. It won't work at once though. It's a slow process and takes years to complete, at least the mind-part. In that time, there'll be two people inside one body and it will be difficult for you to live with that. Trust me, no matter how well you think you know someone, there are those things you don't know...until you Fuse. That will put your resolve to the test, believe me. We all have those things in us that we don't want others to see and you will be completely open for that one other person."

He paused briefly, pondering how to phrase the next words.

"Realize that there will no longer be two of you, not ever again. Your lives will merge and in the end, only one being will emerge, not Chira, not Jari, but a mix of the two, a new person, a new being, different but similar at the same time. It will be difficult for friends and family, trust me on that, I know. It will be difficult on you, because you will adjust, change, switch and also grow until the process is complete, but I believe you have a chance of completing this process much faster than I did."

Again he paused, but this time he looked at the expectantly. Chira and Jari blinked, looking at each other quietly before they both turned back to Vegetto.

"Does...I mean, how does it feel?" Jari asked slowly.

Vegetto chuckled, leaning back and stretching, putting his hands behind the back of his head.

"That is nearly impossible to describe. The Fusion itself is brief and all you feel is a surge of power such as you have never felt before. You will be rushed with images from the other person's mind, but it will subside after a moment to a constant background noise, so you can focus on the things at hand. It's...strange at first, but with your level of friendship and trust, you should manage to coordinate quickly and efficiently, giving you an advantage over me back when I fused."

He shrugged slightly.

"That's about as close as I can describe it. It doesn't come near the actual experience, but words just can't put this into perspective."

Jari nodded slowly and continued to stare at the earrings on the table. Chira looked to her friend and she guessed she knew pretty well what was going on inside of her head. The thought of power such as Vegetto, or at least the ability to get there, the strength to surpass all others, the strength to really make a difference, to get back at Taris and to defeat them all. Yet, at the same time, the reluctance to give up herself, to endure what Vegetto had endured. Chira sighed slightly. This was one point that was probably easier for Jari than for her. Jari didn't have a family which she would leave behind and Chira would confront her family with the second experience of this kind and that only months after her father had died. Still, if this was their only chance, how could she refuse to do it? How could she flee from the choice that her own grandfather had made so long ago. Her grandfather was gone, but his sacrifice had saved them all. Could she live with herself if she chose to run away, to not use this possibility to end this war, to win this war?

She sighed deeply, her eyes settling on the earrings, lying on the center of the table, glittering in the pale light illuminating the Briefing Room. They looked so insignificant, so harmless, but they knew what they could do to a person, to two people to be exact.

"Do not decide now." Vegetto said quietly after a moment of silence had passed and the two girls still sat there, unmoving, staring at the earrings.

"There is no need, but keep the possibility in mind. No one asks you to do this, no one will think any less of you should you refuse, should you chose to fight by yourselves, remain yourselves, no matter what the outcome may be. So keep it in the backs of your minds and think about what you want to do, what you think will be best, for the world, and for you."

He nodded briefly and smiled, standing up. Kavri moved to his side, giving the girls a reassuring smile as well while they both walked out of the briefing room, leaving Jari and Chira to their thoughts.

When Vegetto and Kavri had both left, the door sliding shut behind them, sounding to the two girls a little like a coffin-lid sliding into place, Jari stared at the two small pieces of jewelery for a long while. Chira did likewise, her eyes fixed on the center of the table, but not really seeing anything as she was lost in her thoughts. Both of them remained quiet, the fain hum of the engines somewhere beneath them the only sound in the room apart from their slow and rythmi breathing.

'Can you do this? Can you subject yourself to this?' Chira asked herself, her thoughts travelling around in circles. She pondered, thinking about all the effects, the good and the bad this decision would have on her life and on the lives of the others around her. There was her family, my gods how could she even consider subjecting them to another loss like this? Just after they had lost Gohan, they would now lose Chira, too, losing her not to death, but to the inevitable changing and merging of her personality with that of Jari. She herself didn't think it would be such a bad thing to be merged with Jari, she liked her, loved her even like a sister and she trusted her completely.

So the question was not if she could subject herself to that change, it was more if she could bring it over herself to hurt her family, cause them this kind of emotional anguish so soon after they had somehow recovered from Gohan's loss. It would be heartless, wouldn't it?

Then again, wouldn't it be just as heartless to leave everyone else to the fate of whatever Taris planned? The Sayans were his main concern, but she was fairly certain he would not leave them unpunished and she suspected that punishment would not end with them walking away. So basically, if she had to, could she even refuse to make this sacrifice? Wasn't it her duty to give everything she could to protect those around her? Like her grandfather had done so long ago?

She sighed deeply and then smirked, looking to Jari who, just at this moment, turned to look at her as well.

"It's not really a question you can answer by thinking about, is it?" she asked quietly.

Chira nodded softly. Indeed, thoughts and clear logic didn't help in such a case. All they could basically do was to trust their hearts to point to the right direction. Somehow, she suspected Vegetto had known they would reach this conclusion, and he also knew that they were, heart and soul, warriors. Maybe that had been why his eyes had looked so tormented when he had explained it all to them. He had persisted that they would have the choice, that they could decide if they wanted to do this or not, that no one would think any less of them if they refused.

Yet, he had known that, given the opportunity, neither of them would really hesitate to do whatever was needed to fight for and to protect those they loved. He had known that, just by presenting them with the Potara's, he basically already made a choice and it had hurt him to have to do it.

Jari extended her hand and Chira took it in hers, squeezing it lightly.

They had come to their conclusion.

**// Taris' Spaceship – In pursuit //**

"You -will- obey me!" Taris said, his eyes narrowing as he looked upon his daughter who ducked under his angry tone, but he still could see the glimmer of defiance in her eyes and the small pout on her lips.

"But father, you can defeat him, we have seen that! It wouldn't hurt if I could see how well I can do, would it?" she tried to protest.

Taris snarled and backhanded her violently. The girl yelped and flew across the room, crashing into the wall on the other side of the room. Getting up slowly, she gazed to her father with disbelief, wiping at her mouth. A little blood was trickling down from the corner of her lips.

"Listen to me Sirania." he said quietly, standing regal and having turned away from her to gaze out through the window in his quarters aboard the Spaceship.

"As we speak, the Empire I have built is shaking. The foundations are dangerously weak, because I had to be away for much too long and my 1st Circle hasn't been able to deal out justice as they should have been doing for a year now. Anarchy has risen on some worlds and rebellion on others. Still, I cannot allow any of our forces to move to surpress that, because I have to hunt down the Sayans. If they survive, the Empire is doomed anyway. I will destroy them, if it is the last thing I do. However, the Empire needs you!"

He turned around at that and stared at her with ferocious eyes.

"You are my heir, you will inherit the Empire and it will be -your- duty to stabilize the situation again. I have brought you along because eventually, you can tip the scales but you will -not-, be fighting in the front row! You are needed and I can't afford to lose you! Apart from that, you know fully well that you are too important to me to even consider placing into much danger. If you die, I die and with us, the Empire dies!"

Sirania wanted to say something, but she couldn't, staring at her father quietly and feeling the unbridled love inside her causing her eyes to water. She felt the salty tears run down her cheeks because she felt so humiliated right now. Why hadn't she thought about her father's feelings, why hadn't she trusted his judgement, as she always had? He had never brought her to harm and he had always cared for her so deeply.

"I am sorry father." she whispered tearfully and approached him again.

"It's...forgiven Sirania. You are still so young, there are many things you do not understand, but I must ask you to trust me on this. You need to survive me. You need to be there to guide our people again. And if I cannot destroy the Sayan threat on this hunt, you must escape and find a way to survive, survive until you can attack them."

She nodded slowly and slipped her arms around him, hugging herself against his massive frame tightly.

"I will do as you wish father. Anything for you." she whispered.

Taris nodded slightly and held his daughter in his arms, almost tenderly. He could never be mad at Sirania for long and it was beside the point really. She was still a creature of instinct in many ways, too young to truly understand what was going on, yet trying with all her might to please her father. The result of the accelerated growth process, the scientists had told him. She would grow up quicker in her mind as well, but they could not make her be an adult overnight, as much as Taris would have wanted that. Then again, it would have deprived him of many memories he currently cherished inside him, the process of Sirania growing up. Many things she had done or failed to do, which he had admonished openly, but had secretly laughed about when she hadn't been looking. All in all, despite the fact that he would have liked to have a full grown heir right now, he would not have missed Sirania's growing up for the world.

Long after Sirania had left him, Taris still sat in his quarters, staring out the window to space, the stars passing by as the ship followed the damned Sayans to their next location. From what Taris understood, they were catching up to them and according to his soldier's calculations, they would be landing only bare minutes after their prey had set down this time. That would not allow the accursed Sayans to hide their space-ship again. The next world would bring the conclusion to this tale, one way or the other.

He had, at numerous points in this entire chase, pondered just blowing the planet up on which the Sayan's had landed. It would certainly have made things easier, though he guessed that Vegeto would have found a way to escape that. Even with his powers, Taris was not able to simply vaporize a world. Destroy it, yes, with a right kind of energy attack directed at the core, but it still took a bit before the planet actually exploded, time enough for Vegetto and the others to flee if they so chose and if they immediately recognized what was happening.

That was certainly one reason, but there had been others. Although he did not like to admit it, he was hurt in his pride. He had failed to kill this Vegetto so far and he had even let himself be blooded on two occasions, something that had never happened before, not like this and he felt it was only his right and his damned duty to kill Vegetto himself. And he would take great pleasure from it once he would get to it. There as no doubt in his mind that he would. Vegetto was strong, aye, surprisingly so, even, but not strong enough to beat him and even with the help of his -allies-, he would not be able to stand against Taris. For that matter, there were still a few 1st Circle warriors left, enough to distract the little flies until he was done with Vegetto and then he would kill each and every one of those pesky rats.

He'd keep the girls though. Sirania was a complete success after all and he'd want to keep the option of breeding with them open for the future and for possible male heirs of Sirania when it was the time. DNA samples of male Sayajin had been preserved so that when Sirania's time was right, she could be impregnated with Sayan DNA.

All in all, Taris had reason to be glad. Things were running as smoothly as could be expected. He would deal with the Sayans once and for all very soon and then he could finally return to his Empire and enjoy the fruits of his work.

A soft, quiet, cold chuckle echoed through the room as the Spaceship prowled through the darkness towards its destination.

**//Defender's Spaceship – Bridge //**

"There it is." Ssiti said quietly as the planet appeared on the main viewer. It was a simple, rocky world, barren, except for endless stretches of mountains or canyons. Nothing lived there, perfect conditions for what would come. Vegetto nodded slightly as his piercing gaze analyzed the data available on the world, then nodded once more as he turned to Ssiti.

"When we arrive, we will have to abandon ship this time, immediately, all of us. Ssitit, you and the girls as well as the other Sayans still unable to fight will have to find shelter. As far as calculations show, Taris will have caught up with us enough to be able to attack our ship before we find any kind of shelter. That's why we must leave the ship as quickly as possible and get you all to safety. There's a large complex of natural caves, here." he pointed to a particular section of the planet, the viewscreen reacted, enlarging and enhancing the section.

"You will take refuge there. I doubt he will be looking for you in any case, not until after he's done with me. Of course, I plan on not letting that happen."

He smirked slightly and rubbed the back of his neck as he turned slowly.

"In any case, you hold out in there while the battle rages. I will take care not to let the actual fight drift towards you for fear of collateral damage, but you'll still be shaken roughly, I can assure you that much. Once we are done with Taris, we can use his own Spaceship to get back home."

Ssiti eyed the Sayan quietly for a moment, then smiled.

"You sound rather confident you can beat him." she said.

"Do I?" Vegetto smirked slightly, shaking his head as his cool gaze returned to the screen as though searching for answers there, trying to pry them from the desolate rock they were approaching. Of course, there were no answers to be found there...just death.

"I am not. We have a fighting chance, a chance to turn the tides, but that depends as much on luck as on anything else. There's still the question of Taris' daughter, how powerful she really is, what she will do. Kavri has hinted at one of the 1st Circle Members maybe turning to leave Taris's side. Jari and Chira, how will they be when they have fused, -if- they fuse. How powerful will they be? Questions, questions questions...and no answers until we are actually there."

Vegetto leaned against the chair in the center of the bridged, closing his eyes a moment as he seemed to think, to ponder options. It often made Ssiti wonder what he was thinking about, how he was thinking it? Was he just thinking on new ways to win this war? Was this his only agenda? She knew he had hopes and dreams of rebuilding the Sayan race and she also knew he had sent a message with all biological and medical data on the male and female Sayans they were now carrying to Bulma. She suspected he wanted them tested, to see if they were able to breed. She also knew what this meant for her husband. They had talked about it at length and Ssiti was not really comfortable with the situation, but she also knew that it meant a lot to Kavri, that it would mean a lot to him...to have his own people again. She also knew it would not pull him away from her. They were together for so long, she knew him very well by now and she knew he was honest with her in these things. In the end, she had agreed, reluctantly, to let him give his DNA for breeding purposes. It did not change anything in their lives really, not for him, not for her. The children would grow up with other parents, they had agreed on that, too, and they had their daughter, Arisa, after all.

"I am certain you will find a way to defeat him." Ssiti said after a moment of quiet on the bridge and Vegetto looked up, a light chuckle coming from his lips.

"Why thank you Ssiti." he said softly. I really appreciate this vote of confidence. I assure you...I am doing everything I can."

He nodded to her gently, then turned around, his steps slowly, but surely making their way to the exit of the bridge.

"See to it that the girls and the other Sayans know what is expected of them once we are in the atmosphere. We have no time to waste then. Kavri, C18, Trunks Goten and Bra will help you to get there as quickly as possible. I trust you to keep them calm and together."

He paused at the door, turning to look over his shoulder at her, black eyes seeming to gleam in the dim light of the bridge.

"You've been very strong for all of us so far. Just a little while longer." he said quietly and shocked Ssiti once again with his insight into things and into people. A slight smile played over the Sayans lips as he nodded and then left the bridge quietly, leaving Ssiti wondering if there was anything at all he did not really know about in one way or another.

The planet loomed ahead as the two Spaceships approached it. It was a desolate world as described already, and in the charts, only known by a designation number to this point. It was not important, it had no mineral riches, nor any other kind of significance, had never been a place for a strategic invasion, or any kind of retreat point for troops or civilians. It was just a rock in space, drifting around its axis slowly but surely. It couldn't know of the things that were bound to happen on it and while so far, no one except maybe some cartographer in the Imperial Archives knew of its existance, it would soon be a place renowned and famed throughout the galaxy. People would take on long journeys just to visit once, to see the world where everything had been decided in the end.

The place of the final battle between Vegetto and Taris.

The place where the fate of the Galaxy had been decided.


	22. Battle of Legends

**Chapte**_**r 22**  
Battle of Legends_

_„It was all or nothing. It was the end.  
And it was the beginning."_

_King __Vegetto  
Memories_

Jari and Chira both stared at the barren wasteland that stretched beneath them. They, like all the other warriors, were lined up on the bridge as their ship raced towards the pile of rock that would be the battleground for the ultimate fight, the decision of the fate of the galaxy. It wasn't long until they would have to get to the exits, to leave the ship with the other passengers. A small screen in screen picture showed them Taris' spaceship looming behind them. They would not make it on time to a safe location, were not fast enough to hide the ship. This time, they would be caught before they could settle down in one of the numerous caves of this particular planet. In that Vegetto had admitted, he had miscalculated, but such things happened and in any case, the final showdown would not have waited much longer. Taris' patience was surely wearing thinner and thinner and even if that hadn't been the case, he could not afford to let Vegetto roam free longer. Galactic Newsfeeds had shown riots on many of the worlds that Taris controlled and even though they were put down as quickly as possible, more and more of these riots happened and without the 1st Circle to lend their strength to the enforcement, people realized they could now stand up against local governmental institutions.

No, it would have to end here. Taris had to throw them everything he had and attempt to finally end the nuisance that they had become. Vegetto knew this and he had planned for it. Subconsciously, Jari let her hand slip into the pocket of her pants, feeling the bauble resting inside, the small earring that could, change her life forever if she used it.

Her eyes glanced to the side, to Chira who, at the very same moment, looked back to her. She knew instinctively that they shared the thought of the Potara, that they were both thinking about the possibility of Fusion. They had talked about it at great length, had discussed the possibility, the possible consequences, only to realize, that they would not find a solution in thinking about it. In the end, they would have to decide on the spot and trust their feelings on this matter, which was what they had agreed to in the end.

She gave her best friend, her soul-mate a slight smile and a nod before she turned, regarding the other fighters assembled in the room. There was Videl, standing right next to Chira. She wore a serious but calm expression though Jari detected the little glint in the human woman's eyes, the glint that she knew was what made her different from all the other humans. Her spirit to fight and the joy to do it. Jari felt a tang of worry creep into her mind, remembering how Videl had been consumed by her rage at losing Gohan, how she had torn down her second Limit and had entered a cold battle-frenzy that had made her cruel beyond words. She still remembered the cold voice, the pits of molten lava in her eyes, the fiery rage which expressed itself in her cruel attack on the 1st Circle Warrior. Granted, he had probably deserved death, but what Videl had given him wasn't just death, it was a slow, seemingly endless agony and Jari also still remembered he panic and terror in the man's voice before he had fallen and died. She hoped that Videl had by now learned to control this second Limit Break.

Videl noticed the look from Jari, but she did not look back. She was absorbed in her own thoughts, her own preparations for the battle at hand. She was gathering her thoughts, and focusing her anger. She knew that here, she would have the possibility to fight the people responsible for her husband's death and she had felt a stirring of fury within her ever since they had begun approaching the planet. She had remembered the rage she had felt and every second of the piercing pain had been vivid in her memory but unlike last time, it had not led her to flee into solitude. Instead, she had focused the rage, had channeled it and she now knew that that was also the key to controlling herself when she broke the second limit. She would need that if she was to survive and to fight in this battle. Her gaze quietly traveled to C18, who stood beside her. The android woman who had made her see the hurt she had begun to inflict upon her family and friends and had shown her how to deal with the pain of loss. Surprisingly it had been her, and not one of the others who had managed to get to the core of things and who had broken her out of her grieving finally. C18 stood impassive, her smooth, beautiful features, never changed since she had met her originally showing no trace of what she thought or felt of the oncoming battle. Only the glint of determination in her eyes betrayed the fierceness that she would eventually show in battle, the battle to win this lasting war for good.

There were others in the row, Bra, who looked a little lost, but still determined next to Pan, who had an arm around her friend, drawing and giving strength in this hour when they all needed all their strength to survive. Trunks and Goten were there as well, the two men having their arms crossed over their chests, staring at the screen. They both seemed uncertain, as though unsure what to make of the coming battle. She knew that, when they had been young they had been fierce fighters and had enjoyed it as much as their fathers, but age seemed to have taken some of that joy and maybe the last weeks and months had helped to kill their joy in fighting, too.

Arisa was there, too, which surprised Videl a little. Ssiti was, of course, at the controls of the ship, the silent, serpentine woman having been the one in charge of the ship for most of their trip but she did notice the worried glanced Ssiti was casting to Arisa. The mutilated Sayan girl however stood resolute. The cybernetic arm glinted faintly the jumpsuit's arm having been torn off to make the thing more visible, her way of defying her humiliation of having it. Her eyes, so oddly different were staring at the viewscreen with a fierceness that Videl knew from Jari, even the cybernetic one, glowing an ominous red seemed to only enhance that effect. She had said she was ready to fight and Vegetto had, after speaking with Ssiti and Kavri allowed her to join the fighting.

Kavri, the Sayan warrior who had come to them, fleeing from Taris after betraying him and who had acted as Vegetto's sort of second-in-command ever since. He was strong, not nearly as strong as Vegetto himself, but stronger still than any of the others but more than that, he was a calm and experienced leader, the years of his slavery having made him patient and cunning. His gaze did not betray any of his feelings for the oncoming conflict, but he would join it directly as well this time, from the beginning. She was looking forward to seeing him in real action, truth be told, so far only having seen him in training, either with Vegetto, or training the freed Sayan slaves. Videl was rather sure that he and Vegetto had cooked up some tactics between them that they hadn't shown yet, but on the other hand, Vegetto and Taris both were so far beyond any of the others, it might be they would fight a war all by themselves while Kavri, her and the others would deal with the 1st Circle and the others.

Her gaze drifted again and settled on Vegetto then. Their leader, the one who had made it all possible, who had managed to defy Taris and who had shown power beyond her own imagination, who had reached the ultimate potential of the Saya-jin but he was more than that, too. He had become a mentor for some, a figure to look up to for Jari, Chira and many of the freed Sayans. He had become a friend and confidant of Kavri and Ssiti, sharing his insights and learning from them as they learned from him. He was a beacon of hope for all of them, never giving up, never showing fear, lifting spirits with his easy going way and with his simple way of always pulling out an ace when all seemed on the verge of collapsing and beyond that, he was a man with a dream that he was chasing. Videl did not know if all of the others knew or suspected, but she guessed that most of the people on board did know by now that he intended to let the Sayan Empire rise again. She knew that he had talked long with Kavri and Ssiti, privately and she knew he had also talked with the Sayan's they had rescued.

The notion had, at first, made her uneasy. She remembered quite vividly the stories she had been told by her late husband, the race of conquerors that the Sayan's had been. It had made her uneasy to think such a race would strengthen again, but then again, this Empire would be built on the foundation of Vegetto, Kavri and the other Sayans with them. Vegetto, who had in him the blood of a Prince of these conquerors, but also the sense of a man who had, at some point, stopped being just a warrior and instead had become a protector. Kavri, who had lived his life in slavery because of what he was, but never had lost his pride, who had wedded a woman and treated her as a a good husband for years and years despite the fact he was constantly pressured and taunted and jibed, his Sayan passion always in check, biding his time till finally, the moment of freedom had arrived.

And not to forget that her own daughter was part Sayan, too. Chira had inherited more of the Sayan blood than Gohan ever had had, or so Videl thought. Of course, her own fierce passion for fighting could have something to do with that, too, but in her heart Chira was as much a Sayan as her new best friend, Jari.

An Empire born from these people could not be truly bad. They would have the strength to remain true to their ideals, to their hearts, Videl was sure of that and besides, she did not even know for sure what kind of Empire Vegetto was planning to raise. It was years away from actually coming to fruitition, as the Sayan girls would have to birth children and many children at that to create a sufficient base population, provided they would agree to do that since Videl could not picture Vegetto or Kavri forcing the girls to do it. No, the new Sayan Empire would be different, Videl was quite sure of that and today, she would fight for it.

"Five minutes to intercept." Ssiti announced calmly just then. "We should be getting to the hatches and pods. I put the ship on an automated landing sequence."

Vegetto nodded slightly and turned to them all.

"No big speech is needed. You have all showed me what you are made of. You have all showed me how strong you can be. Let's go out there and show them just how big of a mistake it was to attack us." he said softly and the assembled warriors nodded grimly before they all turned and began to file out of the control room and headed towards their positions.

Vegetto remained on the bridge as Ssiti and Kavri, too left the bridge, but Kavri remained at the door, turning to look at the Super-Warrior, who stood, staring at the screen quietly.

"If all my life was a fight, when I die, I want to live my life again." Vegetto said quietly, chuckling to himself.

Kavri raised a brow and inclined his head.

"It's from a poem that Vegeta's mother told him when he was very small. I do not think he understood it at the time, but the words stuck and now I remembered it. My life has been a long series of fights, but I do not regret it. The only thing I would regret would be to see all the people I care for fall with me, which is of course only another reason to win this fight in the end." Vegetto gave Kavri a slight smile and a wink before he, too walked from the control room and headed to the hangar-bay.

Together, the group left the ship as it plummeted down towards the ground. As they leapt from the open hatch, some carrying refugee Sayans on their backs, they could see Taris' ship approach behind them.

* * *

Even though warriors like Taris really needed no "normal" weapons, ships such as the one of the King were still outfitted with simple lasers. Mostly because sometimes a stray asteroid might have to be removed, or a suicidal pirate wanted to try his luck and the King could not be bothered to intervene himself. 

These weapons flared up brightly, lances of ruby energy stabbing through the air towards the Defender's ship, tearing into the hull and engines. Even as the Defenders themselves fled from their ship, jostling though the air, away from the doomed ship, the engines exploded and the ship began to trundle, the course no longer a controlled descent but now a simple falling. Vegetto's plan worked so far. The ship of Taris corrected course to pursue the defenders, but they were much faster here in the atmosphere and they were scattering, making it impossible for the single ship to successfully stalk them.

Another of Vegetto's predictions came true when Taris halted his ship and let the Defenders flee. Satisfied that they had no way to escape from here, that the ship had crashed and would not fly again, he let the Defenders flee for the time being, setting his own ship down.

The Defenders lost no time. The Sayan girls and the men still too weak to fight were brought together in a secluded spot of the planet, seeking shelter in a cave-system. They would not be important in this fight and as such, they needed to stay away from it as best they could. If everything went according to plan, Taris would never lay eyes on them. The Defenders themselves readied for the upcoming battle then. Some, like Vegetto and C18 simply stood near one of the caves, gazing at the rising sun of the planet, announcing a new day. Others sat together with their friends and family. No words were spoken at this moment, no words were needed. They all knew what was about to happen here. They all knew why they were here and each of them made their peace with themselves and with the universe. None of them knew if they would survive the day but none seemed afraid.

Exactly one hour after his ship had touched down, Taris led his remaining 1st Circle and elite troops from the ship towards the Defenders. Even before that, Vegetto had gathered the Defenders about him and had himself set off, leaving their charges behind in the care of Ssiti and Arisa. The sun had fully risen over the horizon, a blazing, fiery yellow ball in the sky now as the two groups moved towards each other.

A large, deserted plain was where the two groups met. Settling down on the ground about 100 meter from each other, facing each other with grim determination displayed on both sides. Eyes locked, jaws clenched, hands curled into fists as the two groups watched each other quietly, no sound penetrating the deep silence of the planet, only the faint, distant howling of the wind as it roved over the plain, tugging at hair and clothing.

A silent minute passed before Vegetto and Taris both began to walk forward. The two most powerful men in the Galaxy crossed the short distance, standing face to face. Taris cruel, crimson gaze locked on Vegetto's calm, emotionless black eyes. Another minute passed, no word being uttered before finally Taris spoke.

"Usually, with a man as powerful as you, I would make the offer of servitude to me. In this case, I will skip this formality."

Vegetto smirked faintly and then smiled an almost pleasant smile.

"I guess then it falls to me to offer you servitude in exchange for your surrender here. Drop to your knees and abandon your chase of us, and I might be willing to let you live."

Taris narrowed his eyes at that, fury burning in his gaze, hot as the sun above them.

"I salute your bravery. Even now, when you have nowhere left to run, you make boasts. In any case, I consider the diplomatic effort to be concluded."

Vegetto inclined his head, a faint indication of a bow, but neither of the two moved.

Energy filled the air around the two. This was not merely a battle of wits, but a battle will and power, too. The Defenders and Taris' warriors did not make the mistake of concentrating on their respective leaders this time, keeping their eyes locked on their enemies, but none of them moved either. The air seemed to thicken as both of the super warriors gathered their power. The air around them began to crackle with power, little sparks of energy, red for Taris, blue for Vegetto began dancing around them, then little arcs of lightning. The wind around them began to pick up, neither of them moved.

The ground beneath them began to tremble, small rocks, chips and stones began to float and disintegrate in the air around them, then larger chucks of the ground, the slight shaking changing into serious tremors.

Still the two did not move, did not blink. Vegetto however began to change. Instead of the violent and quick change he usually displayed, the change came slowly now. Hair grew, fuller, thicker, more unruly, the color beginning to change from his forehead backwards from the deep black to bright silver. His eyes seemed to be liquid silver for a moment, before the liquid flowed from the pupils to the edge of the eyes, surrounding them in a thin line.

All the while, the turbulences around the two warriors increased in strength. The small arcs of lightning had developed into full blown lightning strikes, splitting rocks and ground where they hit. The two fields of energy began to manifest, meeting between the two, red and blue clashing, crackling as Taris and Vegetto gathered their strength for the fight to follow.

The energy began to envelope Vegetto completely, covering his body as it changed, grew slightly. A distinct growl could be heard, even though it appeared Vegetto did not move his lips, the growl instead seeming to come from the energy itself. Feral, angry energy that was furiously trying to break free and Vegetto now let it escape, let it completely consume him.

The aura's of the two warriors extended, grew, strengthened, the process growing faster as both of them exerted more and more of their power, called more and more of their strength.

Then, with a resounding, thundering boom, their aura's seemed to explode. The ground around them was torn asunder, the Defenders and Taris' warriors alike had to lean against the torrent of energy streaming from the two creatures before them. Everything seemed to be pure energy for a blinding moment.

And then, without hesitation or restraint, both sides leapt forward even as Taris and Vegetto exchanged the first blow. Defenders and Taris Warriors met in the air, another powerful clash as they launched themselves at each other with everything they had. The ground was shaken, the entire planet trembling with the sheer brutality of the forces that were unleashed in this very instance.

Videl and C18 were facing Berelain and they were using everything they had on the 1st Circle Warrioress. The three women met in the air with furious clashes. Videl had powered up to the second Limit Break, her eyes seeming again like the pits of hell, only this time, she was in control of herself and she used her power to devastating effect. Together, C18 and Videl drove the woman back, but she was giving them the fight of their lives. Even outnumbered, Berelain was a hard opponent to beat. She fought with savage fury and even the combined power of Videl and C18 wasn't enough to finish her off easily. Both sides scored hits and received them, both parties giving no quarter and showing no mercy.

Jari and Chira were tearing through the ranks of the so called elite of Taris' soldiers. Their perfect coordination allowed them to whirl through the ranks of the soldiers like a violent thunderstorm. The remaining troops fell before them like leaves in the wind, broken like dry branches. It was almost too easy and almost a little disappointing, but it needed to be done for the battle to be won, so despite their thirst for a real enemy, they kept at it, finishing off every last soldier of Taris' elite troops together with Goten and Trunks. Between the four of them, it was almost boring, at least until they realized that they were growing weaker, despite the fight not really being an effort.

"Shit! that must be the energy...thief...thingy!" Goten growled as the four of them frantically looked around.

"Trunks, only one way..." Goten shouted and Trunks nodded. Without hesitation and with ease and practice born of years of doing this together, they performed the steps necessary. Chira and Jari blinked, turning away as the two figures were suddenly enveloped by a blinding flash of light and a moment later, were one. The Fusion complete, now with the characteristic long, spiky hair of the Third transformation, Gotenks now turned and looked around briefly and then dashed off.

Garida never stood a chance. She was an Energy thief, not suited for direct combat. She normally hung back on the battlefield and stole the energies of the strongest opponents until they were too weak to fight for themselves. But this had shocked her. Two of those darn defenders had suddenly become one and when she had tried to follow the two, her delicate energy senses had received a sudden shock as the power-level of the two combined and exploded upwards. She was blinded, not with her eyes, but with her senses for a moment and that was all the time Gotenks needed. He found the woman and the last thing Garida saw was his bright smirk as he appeared right in front of her.

"Done!" Gotenks shouted and leapt onwards.

Jari and Chira looked at each other, shrugged and chuckled.

"That was unexpected...but let's get on with business." Jari winked and the two girls followed Gotenks towards the remaining Troops.

* * *

Kavri was squaring off against Eranin. The two knew each other from countless visits of Kavri to the King and the strong, silent 1st Circle Warrior did not make the mistake of underestimating the Sayan, nor did he even allow himself to be surprised at the new techniques Kavri had learned during his training with Vegetto. The old warrior was too experienced to let himself be foiled by such, but Kavri had grown considerably stronger under Vegetto's tutelage and he had been powerful before. The fight waged on, but Kavri was gaining the upper hand quickly, delivering quick and heavy blows to the older warrior as they sped over the landscape of the barren world that had become the stage for this ultimate battle. 

Berelain had never been really afraid, not for a very long time at least, not since she had learned of her special power and yet, these two were slowly, but surely making her be afraid, afraid of losing, afraid of actually dying on this backwater world, dying because of the madness of her superior which had lead to this wild chase of a single Sayan girl and the resulting Crusade. She was purely on the defensive now and try as she might, she could not even use her energy stealing to get the upper hand. Every time she managed to tap into the energy-flow of one of her attackers, the other would disrupt her, break her concentration and she was taking too many hits to keep her own power equal to the two of them. Was she really ready to die for Taris and his mad hunt for Sayans. And hadn't he himself proclaimed a rule of the strong, that the strong must rule the weak in order for an Empire to prosper and grow. So, in effect these people were proving to be the better suited leaders of the Empire by defeating them. There was no shame in admitting that somebody was stronger, was there? Still, Berelain was not yet ready to give up. She bit her lip and conjured up the last of her strength, fighting back with all she had. She summoned up the will to tap into both of her enemies' energy-flows for a brief moment, stealing some of their power to give herself a strong surge of newfound power. The surprise worked for a moment. The merciless attack of the two women halted and Berelain, furious that she should actually be in danger of losing here, drove the two back a little with all the might she could muster, but she was no true close-combat specialist. The charge held for a minute before Videl and C18 found their rhythm again, found an opening in Berelain's technique and used it. The last thing Berelain saw were the eyes of the two women staring after her as she fell from the sky, too weak to hold herself in the air anymore. She saw them watching her fall, she saw one of them point at her. Closing her eyes, she finally realized this would be the end for her. There was nothing she could do, no trick she could perform to get herself out of this mess. The Sayan and his warriors had proven time and again that they were the better warriors and here and now, they had bested her. Some would say that a fight two against one was unfair, that the Defenders had used their numerical advantage over them, but Berelain knew that it wasn't so. The fight had begun back on that desolate world, back on Earth and it had raged all this time. All the time, Taris and Vegetto had been playing a game, maneuvering pieces to and fro, placing them to gain advantages and Vegetto had proven to be the one who had outmaneuvered Taris after all. She didn't know if Taris could defeat the Super-warrior by himself, especially when all the other defenders would join in the attack against him, too. Somehow, she doubted it, but as she floated through the air towards the ground of this remote and barren world, she found she no longer cared. Any moment now, the two Defenders would bring an end to her life and she'd finally be free. She felt a tight, stabbing pain in her back and then blackness.

"I yield."

Kavri held his attack and stared at the man from his turquoise eyes, pondering a moment if this could be a trick. The man in front of him was not known to use tricks in battle, something Taris had always reprimanded him for, but to him, the values of honor and loyalty were too important to ignore.

Slowly, Kavri let his hand sink to the side and took another moment to ponder what to do now. He looked around briefly, keen eyes and supernatural senses telling him of the state of the other battles. Berelain had been defeated, Jari, Chira, Goten and Trunks were done with the troops, so the only fight still ongoing was that of Vegetto and Taris, which wasn't surprising in itself. He sensed the enormous battle in the far distance, even though he knew that the two super-warriors had reached the other side of the planet with their fighting by now, he could still feel the ground tremble with the unleashed power of the two. So far, it seemed an even match, but Kavri knew that Vegetto would eventually tire, and sooner than Taris, unless he had found some new secret he hadn't told anyone about. He'd need all the help he could get.

"Swear on your honor as a 1st Circle Warrior that you will remain out of the fight from now on and will not raise a hand against me or my allies again until the battle is over at which point we will discuss what will happen with you further." He said after a moment to make his decision.

The man stood up shakily, blood seeping from several wounds Kavri had delivered to the man.

"I swear it, by my honor as a 1st Circle Warrior." He said solemnly.

Kavri nodded, satisfied. He knew the word of this man was better than any kind of guard he could assign and in any case, they couldn't spare a man.

"Find Ssiti. Stay with them." He said and gave the 1st Circle some directions. He could not afford to have the man around and he was in a hurry to get to Vegetto's aid as fast as possible. Without waiting for an answer, he leapt up into the air and sped away towards the battle on the other side of the planet. He could feel the other Defenders moving, too. The fight was now against a single enemy and if they could combine their strength against Taris, they stood a chance now. That had been Vegetto's plan from the start, weaken the enemy, rob him of his support and then concentrate on the single target without distractions. There was only one problem, Kavri knew. Taris' ace card, his daughter and heir had not yet shown up on the battlefield, but somehow, Kavri doubted that she would stay out of the battle entirely.

* * *

Jari and Chira flew side by side with Goten and Trunks, racing through the atmosphere of the planet as fast as they could possibly go. They had dispatched all the troops and now, it was time to come to Vegetto's aid, to help him finish this war once and for all. Jari and Chira were both looking forward to the fight. Even though Taris would be hugely outnumbered, it promised to be a good fight. 

At that moment she heard a sharp gasp and a sudden explosion from behind her. She spun in midair, only to find Goten trundling to the ground, smoke curling from his chest, eyes wide with surprise. She was still confused when the next explosion occurred and she saw the same happen to Trunks, a lance of energy stabbing at his back and causing him to double over in the air before plummeting to the ground. She could not tell if they were dead or simply unconscious and she had no time to check.

"Behind you!" Chira shouted and Jari, used to following Chira's shouts blindly by now ducked just in time to evade a similar blast. She spun in midair and found herself eye to eye with the strangest creature she had yet seen. Eyes were staring at her, eyes of shifting colors, seeming like a cascade of rainbows. Hair seemed to be aflame with a gold-red light, spiky and wild, the characteristic trademark of a Sayajin, but this girl was not a Sayajin, not entirely at least. Thin tendrils seemed to writhe and twist over the exposed parts of her skin, seeming to dance with a light of their own, like living ink. Jari was confused for a moment. She was sensing the girls presence now and then her eyes widened as she realized just what kind of power there was, bottled up in this seemingly petite girl.

Another lance of energy shot from the woman's palm and again, Jari evaded it just barely. Chira came in to help, but the girl had vanished suddenly. Jari felt a sharp pain in her back as a heel hit her square on. She hadn't even managed to see the girl move!

"Chira get away!" Jari screamed but she was cut off as their new enemy laughed, almost madly and drove her knee up into Jari's chest, hitting her solar-plexus, driving the air from her lungs and sending her spinning backwards. The next lance of energy she couldn't even think about evading and it hit her square in the chest. Searing pain and then a warm, comfortable blackness enveloped her as she fell to the ground, limp.

Chira would have gotten away if she could have, but this new enemy was simply too fast. Belatedly it occurred to her who this could be. Sirania! Taris' daughter! And even as she thought about it, even as the girl sent her spinning out of control with two powerful kicks and she felt the energy of her attack burn into the skin of her back, she realized that this was what Vegetto had feared the most. This was no warrior. This was a monster of such amazing power and strength that Chira could not even begin to imagine how they could defeat her but as she hit the ground, she remembered something, a chance. Even as the darkness enveloped her as well, she willed herself to remember and to fight against the rising unconsciousness. The Potara. If only she could get to Jari.

Vegetto felt the new presence immediately, just as he felt the diminishing of four others. He had no time to ponder on it, since he was locked in battle with Taris, the most intense battle of his life to be certain and he was enjoying it immensely, even though he was slowly but surely losing ground. Still, this new development was his worst fear come true. Taris' daughter had joined the battle and had quickly dispatched four of his allies. His best bet now was to hope Kavri, Videl and C18 made it here in time to defeat Taris at least. He could feel all their presences racing towards him and Taris and he knew Taris could feel it, too. Strangely enough, he didn't seem happy at the thought of his daughter joining. A lack of faith in her abilities maybe, or was he actually caring for the girl and afraid of her injuring herself?

With a growl, he forced Taris backwards, sending a quick succession of deadly energy bolts at the King before he himself turned and sped towards Taris' daughter. Taris, realizing what Vegetto was doing yelled with fury and raced after him, just as Vegetto had thought. He seemed to completely forget about anything else and that was what Vegetto hoped for. Kavri, Videl and C18 were close now, only seconds away from arriving. He could see Sirania in the distance, he and her approaching each other quickly. He was almost certain he could see her grin with glee as she realized whom she was charging. Then they met.

Kavri forced himself to not pay heed to the spectacle that happened a little distance off. He had felt Sirania, too and knew that Vegetto was holding her back and that could mean only one thing, that Vegetto was trusting him and the others to get to Taris in time so that's what they did. Taris was chasing after Vegetto like a madma and didn't seem to realize anything around him at the moment Kavri, Videl and C18 arrived on the scene. Having fought together long enough and all of them born and raised in the spirit of warriors, they knew what they had to do. They raced forward, their hands coming up, gathering energy into them as quickly as they could, as much as they could hold. Furious red for Videl, cold, icy blue for C18 and sparkling gold for Kavri, the energies crackled in their hands as they approached. As one, the three halted, now sure of their target and of the fact he still did not care about them. At the same moment, Vegetto and Sirania met in midair, the shockwave pressing a huge crater into the ground even though the two were high in the air.

Kavri, Videl and C18 released their energies and three beams of power shot from their hands directly to Taris. The King, oblivious to the threat until the last moment, could do nothing to dodge the attack from all sides and was hit by all three of the powerful blasts. The explosion occurred only moments after Vegetto and Sirania had begun to battle and it tore the sky asunder with its force. Taris was tossed to the ground limply and when Sirania noticed that, the Defenders heard her devastated wail of anger and terror. Vegetto was flung back by an invisible wall of force, a wall that swept out from Sirania and hit Kvri as wel as Vide and C18 a moment later, the sheer power of this sphere of force slamming him backwards with a strength that took him wholly by surprise. Videl and C18 fared no better, both of them being flung to the ground and slammed into the rocky earth, left there toile, not moving. Kavri could barely move himself, let alone fight. He could still see what was happening though as he picked himself up from the ground. Sirania had raced to her father's side and was cradling him in his arms. Impossibly, her aura seemed to grow ever stronger as tears streaked down the girl's features. The grief and anger were fueling her power somehow, making her strong beyond belief. What kind of being was she?

Vegetto was still floating in the air, having been fast enough to at least partially shield himself from the blast from Sirania. He stared down to the girl holding her father with disbelief. This kind of power…it was stunning, even to him but it was also raw, untrained. Even then, it would not help him, not as she sat there like a little bomb. If he didn't do something quick, she would simply let all the energy bottled up inside her out and that would obliterate the planet and any living being on it. There was only one way to end it. Strike now, with all the power they could find. One concentrated blow, but he himself didn't have enough power to do enough damage.

"Kavri…Ssiti…everyone, lend me your strength." He whispered in his mind to all the others. "Open yourselves."

Kavri did so without hesitation, Ssiti followed. Then the other Sayans, the men and the girls, and then he felt Marron, Bra and Pan. A moment later, he also felt the dim lights of Videl and C18, barely conscious, but still giving all they had left to him. He gathered their energy, coerced it to come to him, infuse his body. Slowly, it formed about him, drifted in small little sparks around his body, fusing into his skin and strengthening him, healing wounds and replenishing lost power.

Still, it was too slow. Sirania turned around, noticing the gathering of power behind her and her shifting eyes fixed on Vegetto, burning with pure hatred. She rose, letting her father come to his knees by himself again, strengthened again, probably by a gift from his daughter. Both of them looked to Vegetto and floated up into the air, facing him.

Vegetto was not yet ready to deliver an attack that could devastate Sirania…much less her and her father. Time seemed to stop for a moment as the three floated there, staring at each other quietly, a moment of utter silence.

And then Sirania and Taris both raised their hands, pointing at Vegetto.

_To be concluded._


	23. What it takes

_Author's Note:Yes, funny, isn't it? Months without a single update and now two in a row and I'll tell you what I will even include the final update within the next month,not so much because it will take longer to write, but because I for myself, have to think about how to best wrap things up for this story. All of you, who have stuck with me since I first uploaded this story and all of you who have joined me as it unfolded over the space of years, Thank you for reading, for your reviews, for your questions and for your patience. This story is coming to an end, and I can only hope you have enjoyed reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it, even if sometimes, the words would just not come to me. Proper thanks will be said in the Epilogue which I promise to upload within the next few weeks._

**Chapter 23**  
_What it takes..._

"_A true warrior, is not defined by  
power or strength or even cunning.  
A true warrior is someone who does  
what needs to be done, when it needs  
to be done, without shirking their  
responsibility. A true warrior, does  
not hesitate."_

_Book of the Warrior  
Sayan Library_

Ssiti was still exhausted from giving her power to Vegetto, but she was up on her feet again, moving among the huddled people in their hideout. Even in the few weeks they had been free, the Sayan girls had developed a lot of spirit again, considering what had been done to them. Ssiti admired that and she had always admired it in Sayans. It was what had first attracted her to her husband after all, his unbroken spirit, even after years of humiliation, still strong and proud, despite an entire Empire hating him. These girls had a lot of that and the men, too. Even though they were in no condition to fight, it was clear that should worst come to worst, should Taris win and defeat Vegetto, these people would not return to their previous lives. They would go out fighting this time.

"You look sad." Arisa said quietly as she moved up beside Ssiti.

Ssiti turned and smiled faintly, serpentine eyes gazing over the young girl that she had adopted to be her own child, knowing full well that she could never bear children for her husband. Those strange eyes peered back, one black as night, the other gleaming a faint red, artificial, but even in that there was now more feeling, more emotion. Arisa had come a long way from the frightened, abused child Ssiti had picked up when she had fled Taris Prime.

"I am sad." she admitted quietly and returned her gaze to the others in the cavern.

"We've grown close...I came to know these people and now..." Ssiti sighed and looked down.

"Hope is not lost. Hope never is lost, you know. You taught me that." Arisa said with a soft smile, reminding Ssiti of how she had coaxed the girl to trust, to hope again.

"I had given up hope. I was ready to die there...in that alley when you found me, but you did find me. You took me and you gave me hope again and that showed me that there is no reason to ever give up hope."

Ssiti blinked, turning her gaze back to Arisa again and then smiled softly, putting one arm around the girl and hugging her gently.

"You're right of course Arisa. The last thing to die, is hope." she whispered.

* * *

When she had been a child, her mother had told her that a true warrior did not flee from a fight, that he'd rather remain and die on the field of battle than seek refuge in flight. 'Why then are we fleeing, mommy?' she had asked and her mother had smiled sadly at that. 

"Because dear, sometimes, the fight is not what you think it is. Sometimes, the fight takes place on an entire different level. A real warrior knows what the true fight is and he fights that, instead of pushing into battles that are, ultimately of small consequence." she had replied.

Jari had been too young to understand back then and she was certain that her mother had known the child would not truly understand the words, but she had remembered and she knew now what her mother had meant. When word had reached them of the destruction of Vegeta-Sei, their fight had changed. No longer had it been a fight against certain enemies, but simply a fight to survive, and more importantly, to keep their child alive. Her parents had fled and hidden as good as they could, even if that had gone against their very nature as Sayans, because they had realized that victory could not be won in direct combat, but only by keeping their race alive somehow.

That they had managed, even if they had died in protecting her, died to keep her alive. The ultimate sacrifice in order to save her, to keep the blood alive. They had hoped that there would be others, so the Sayan race would not disappear from the Galaxy, they had given their all to protect them from extinction.

Now though, it looked like all of that had been in vain.

As she stared up at the sky on this desolate rock, barely able to move, she felt the desperation clawing at her heart. He felt the power-surges from Taris and Sirania even as Vegetto was still gathering his energies, but not enough, not fast enough to stand a chance against the two of them.

She staggered to her feet, looking around feebly as she extended her senses, feeling and locating Chira not too far away and beginning to walk towards her, slowly, leaving behind little drops of blood as she walked, the crimson liquid pouring from several wounds on her body. The glare of the planets sun was harsh in her eyes and her vision was somewhat blurry, but she thought she could make out the shape of Chira in the far distance.

This fight was not over. They still had the strength to carry on. She still had the will to go on. One hand slipped into her pocket and withdrew the Potara that she had been carrying all this time. Trudging on, she fumbled with it, staring at it briefly before clipping it to her ear.

"I know what I am doing...Chira...help me..." she whispered.

* * *

"You carry within you the blood of fighters." her mother had told her more than once. Chira remembered it clearly, the times she had trained with her mother and then later, with her uncle and with Trunks, with C18 even when she had come by from time to time, but always it had been her mother who had pushed her hardest, who had made her remember who she was and what she carried within herself. Pan had never quite understood how she could be so...adamant. Sure, Pan had enjoyed their little training sessions, but only as playful banter basically. Her sister had never developed the same kind of zeal that Chira had found in herself when she had trained, nor the fascination for the stories their mother had told them of their grandfather and father. How they had fought against insurmountable odds, never giving up, never surrendering and more than that, how their grandfather had taken joy from it all. How he had enjoyed fighting, enjoyed the challenge. 

It had always inspired Chira, more than any book or TV-Show could have ever done and she had always been proud of her heritage, even if it seemed, for the longest time, that it would eventually die out.

But then there had been the chance that it may not die out. That it might return, bright and strong as it should be and she had taken strength from that, yet now it seemed as though all that were about to come to an end again. Everything she had fought for, lost?

No!

With a slight groan, she pushed herself up, blinking away blood and sweat from her eyes. With another groan, she pushed herself to her feet, staggering and turning to look around slowly. Her vision was blurred, unfocused, but she thought she could see someone walking to her. Not just someone.

It was Jari.

With a weak smile on her lips, the girl fumbled one hand into her pocket as she walked towards the Sayan girl. Numb fingers withdrew the Potara she had carried with her. Her hands were shaking slightly when they lifted the small earring and she stared at it for a brief, but intense moment, before she reached up and clipped it to her ear.

"I'm with you Jari...always..." she whispered.

It was the most curious sensation ever. A soft tugging behind the navel at first, then a strong tear as they were both pulled towards each other. Jari an Chira had split moment to stare into each other's eyes as they met, seeing no regrets, no reservations, just determination and understanding, mirrored in both their eyes before a bright flash of light enveloped them, consumed them and there was no more vision. There was an explosion of images, pictures of past and present, of parents and family, of loss and death, of fear and anger on the run, of childish dreams of glory and battle. Feelings flowed back and forth, love, anger, hatred, sadness, joy, intertwining, mixing, flooding as two consciousnesses merged. Each lived an entire life in the blink of an eye, the life of the other, seeing and understanding what life was for the other, even though it would not have helped, had they not understood it. As long as it seemed for them, memories pouring through their minds, the actual Fusion only took moments to complete. The bright, blinding light receded slowly and where just a moment earlier, two girls had stood, there was now one.

Chija stared down herself at her hands, the same hands she had always known, but at the same time different. She had no way to look at herself, and right now she was rather unconcerned with her looks. The shock of the Fusion was receding and now she was beginning to feel the staggering amount of energy she now had at her command. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. Vegetto's words, describing the Fusion had been right, but at the same time so inadequate to prepare her for the strength she now felt pulsating through her and she wasn't even powered up yet. Slowly, she raised a hand in front of her eyes, staring at the slim, seemingly fragile fingers, then clenched them into a fist. Coal-black eyes gazed ahead from the slim features, now a mixture of Jari and Chira. A flicker of emotions in those eyes, no regrets, but confusion, as Vegetto had said, it was…completely alien to be merged like this, but they would have to deal with that. They knew the Fusion was not revokeable and they had accepted that. Slowly, she reached up to trace a hand through her longer, spiky black hair and pushed an errand strand from her eyes, a slight grin coming to her lips. She could worry about the effects of the Fusion later, for now, there was a battle to be won. The newborn warrioress leaped into the air and sped towards the battle.

* * *

Vegetto stared at doom, he knew that, or he thought he knew that. Just when he thought that the battle was nearly certainly decided, he felt the approach of a new energy, a new power, stronger than anything else in the rows of the defenders, stronger even than Kavri, who, exhausted as he was, was watching the fight from the sidelines at the moment. A brief moment later, Sirania and Taris noticed it, too and another split second later, Vegetto was no longer alone. Next to him hovered someone who brought Vegetto joy and despair at the same time. Joy, because the tides of the war might yet turn in their favor now, despair, because it had come to this most extreme of measures. There was only one explanation for this power and for the resemblance. Chira and Jari had used the Potara's and had fused, like he had so long ago, multiplying their power effectively, creating a new warrior of exceptional strength and of superior spirit. This being was so very much like Vegetto, he could see it in her eyes, see it in the way she hovered calmly beside him, only younger. So young…two so young lives…effectively ended and a new one created instead, created because he hadn't been strong enough. 

"And who is this now?" Sirania asked with a gleeful smile. "Another plaything for me?"

The being next to Vegetto raised a brow and then chuckled slightly.

"Careful, I might be more than you can handle." she said and narrowed her eyes then. "I was Chira…I was Jari, I am Chija. Two become one, to kick your sorry little ass into a world of pain!"

Vegetto smirked faintly at that, remembering the words he had said to Buu back when he had fused. Yes, she was definitely younger than he had been, but it brought an amused smirk to his features.

"I don't know where you come from, but since you decided to come here, you'll die sooner than later." Taris said with a low growl.

"Sirania, take care of her, I'll handle Vegetto."

Sirania actually pouted at that and grumbled.

"But father, I wanted a…" she started to complain but Taris shot her a silencing glance and she obeyed.

"Yes father." she muttered softly.

Vegetto turned his gaze briefly to Chija and tilted his head to the side.

"Can you take her?" he asked, seriously, quietly.

Chija shrugged her shoulders a little.

"I don't know." she said with a gentle, soft combination of Jari and Chira in her voice. "We'll see what this new me can do, won't we?"

Vegetto chuckled and nodded.

"I am sorry it came to this. I hope you can forgive me one day." he said quietly.

Chija hesitated a moment and then smiled a faint smile.

"Let's first make sure that we both live so that I CAN forgive you one day." she replied and smiled briefly, nodding to Vegetto before she tensed and then gathered her newfound power to herself.

"Our true selves…that's what you said, right?" she whispered.

Vegetto blinked and shook his head, realizing in the blink of an eye what the newformed fighter was about to try, the words and the look in her eyes confirming what he felt.

"Chir..Chija, wait. This is a dangerous transformation…you can't just have a go at it out of nowhere!"

Chija however did not listen, she tensed further and the energies began to swirl about her, surrounding her in a corona of reddish energy and light as she not only drew out all her power…but all her soul as well. She searched the deepest corner of her being for the truths about the Sayan race, about the Sayan mindset, about the origins of her race. HER race, regardless of the fact that one of the two people who had created her had not been full blooded Sayan. Anyone who had an ounce of Sayan blood in themselves could find this, could find the roots of their existence within their hearts and soul. Here, she found it, in the center of her being and she drew it out, fastened her grip on the roots of her kind and let them break free.

Vegetto, Taris and Sirania watched as Chija seemed to curl up on herself, still surrounded by that aura of red energy, swirling like a Vortex of rage. Taris was wary, Sirania seemed almost…hungry? Only Vegetto looked worried. Drawing out the core of the Sayan being was one thing, he trusted Chija to be able to do that, but could she channel and control the incredible power that would fill her, followed by the rage of a species? He would have to hope that she could. Slowly, he drifted backwards, away from Chija. He knew that he shouldn't stay this close to her, not when she was about to unleash the primal fury of the Saya-jin.

She saw what Vegetto must have seen when he had first found this. She saw the history of the Sayan people, playing in front of her mind's eye, showing her the truths of what they were and what they once had been and like Vegetto, she rejoiced in it, shared her people's emotions in the ages, shared their lust for combat but also the despair of their loss, the slow degeneration, the gradual despairing and the ultimate price they paid. Freezer would never have been able to conquer and destroy the original Saya-jin. They would have, quite literally, wiped the floor with him, but in their weakened, degenerated state, he had been able to crush them. And she saw again the fate of all the Sayans that had remained. She relived every life of every single Sayan in the space of a heartbeat.

And then, the rage exploded. Vegetto had retreated a safe distance, but Sirania and Taris had not been so clever, too transfixed by what was going on. A shockwave of immense power threw them back suddenly, slammed them into the next mountain and onwards still as the energy-field surrounding Chija expanded, grew and devastated everything in its path. This was the deciding moment, Vegetto knew. He himself had been able to contain the energies soon enough to save the ship. Would Chija be able to contain the energy before it tore apart the planet?

Chija was in a state of agony and bliss. SO much power, so much energy, so much life, but she knew it would destroy her if she couldn't tame it, couldn't contain it, her and everyone she cared about, yet it was so sweet, all this power, free and unchained! It would be a crime to chain it, wouldn't it be?

_But Vegetto did it!_ A voice at the back of her head said, whispered to her.

Yes, her mentor had tamed the power, how could she even think about doing any less?

A primal cry of earth-shattering rage escaped her lips and she contained it all, all the fury, all the anger, all the power, she bottled it up inside her, bound it to her will and gradually the huge sphere stopped expanding, and instead closed around Chija again, the energy seeming to seep into the newborn warrior until she hovered there, yet again changed. Hair the color of blood billowed slightly around her shoulders, spiky and untamed as with Vegetto, but shorter, only reaching to her shoulders. A set of bandages covered her bare chest, stretching tightly over the blood-red fur bristling on her arms, on her side and most of her upper body except for her chest and belly. Her tail whisked back and forth idly behind her as she looked down at her own hands from eyes the color emeralds surrounded by a thin, blood-red line.

"Wow…" she whispered quietly, to herself, a little surprised at the feeling of this new body and this new power.

Vegetto hovered closer again, now that Chija's transformation was complete.

"You have just made me very proud." he said with a soft smile.

"The first Sayan to follow me on the path back to ourselves."

Chija turned to him and smiled faintly. How she could have thought his appearance was alien and frightening before, she couldn't even begin to understand. With her new eyes, pure, Sayan eyes, she saw only the beauty of a warrior incarnate and she saw that his eyes beheld the same in her.

"Thank you. It feels….right." she said and nodded.

Vegetto chuckled softly, nodding before he turned around. In the distance, Sirania and Taris were approaching again. They would probably be furious now and the battle wasn't over yet, but at least, the odds were now somewhat evened and they stood a realistic chance of defeating both Taris and Sirania.

"Well then, Chija, would you give me the honor of this dance?" Vegetto said with a slight grin on his lips.

Chija chuckled and bowed almost formally, winking at the Super-warrior after she righted herself again.

"The honor is all mine. Let's play!"

* * *

Videl was watching the battle, together with C18 and Kavri. The three had found each other after having exhausted themselves by first trying to subdue Taris and then by giving their last energy to Vegetto. She stared at the happenings, her keen eyes showing her what was happening in more detail than she wanted to see, or did she? One part of her was incredibly sad that she had lost a child, obviously, but another was incredibly proud that her own child had made this choice and the logical part of her told her that she had not truly lost Chira, she had only…evolved if you could call it that. Chira had always been a warrior at heart, much like Videl and Videl herself had stoked the fire of her joy in fighting, the fire of the warrior inside her as much as she could while she had grown up. Back then, she had hoped that Chira would one day be everything Videl had thought she could never be, as strong as her husband and his friends, capable of defending Earth against anything that the universe might throw at them. Chira had taken up the challenge and now, that Videl was on par with most of the Defenders, when she had found her own power and unlocked it, Chira, too had realized her true path, her real calling and she had not flinched from it, had accepted it and made the only choice a warrior had in this situation. 

Yes, Videl was proud of her daughter and even though she shed a tear from one eye, thinking of the little girl she would never see or hold again, the other burned with pride and hope.

"She truly is your daughter." C18 said quietly from beside her and offered a slight, seldom smile.

"One of these days, I'll have to let you try your luck with Marron, maybe you can get her to be a bit more like Chira."

Videl laughed softly, wiping the tear from her eye as she shook her head.

"Thank you C18. It means a lot to me and if we come out of this alive, I promise I will come over and visit you more often, you and Marron both."

The android gave another slight smile before she nodded and turned her blue gaze back to the skies above.

"We have a fighting chance now." Kavri said from his sitting position beside them.

"But the playing field is still not even. I guess now all we can do is trust our friends and hope for the best."

Videl nodded slightly and her gaze, too returned to the heavens where the four figures approached each other.

The four figures approached slowly at first, but then picked up speed quickly and a moment later, they all seemed to vanish at the same moment. An instant later, the air was torn apart by a resounding boom and the crackling of powerful energy being released as the four met, Taris against Vegetto, Sirania against Chija. The four fighters were locked in the fastest, most brutal battle that anyone who was watching had ever seen. Ssiti and the others could not watch, but they FELT the struggle even at this distance, half a planet away, the discharges of power were so strong that they thought they could grasp them by just extending a hand.

No quarter was expected, none was given and the four of them knew that this could only be resolved in one way, total annihilation of the other party. Blasts of energy were hurled back and forth, punches and kicks connected on both sides, sending attackers and defenders reeling back while missed lances of energy turned the area around them into a field of destruction, changing the face of the planet. Mountains were leveled, oceans were cooked away by the sheer ferocity of the fight that was happening at this very moment. No more games, no more surprises, this was the ultimate showdown and everyone involved, be it the warriors themselves or those who could now only stand and watch, knew that.

Chija was glad that Jari and Chira had trained so much together and that they had, even before they had fused, worked so closely as a team. Now in her new body and with this new power, it made her more in control and let her utilize the power better. Sirania was a crazy opponent, crazy, wild and incredibly dangerous. As Jari and Chira, one blow from that girl had been enough to knock them out, now, in her new form it still hurt but she could fight back and she knew she was having an effect. Both of them were losing strength as they continued to exchange blows, but both of them were also enjoying this fight. Strangely enough, she saw the same joy in fighting in Sirania's eyes that she knew was showing in hers, only in the shifting, twirling eyes of the strange girl she was fighting, there was also a crazed madness, a thirst for wanton destruction and murder. If she had had time to think about it, she would have probably been sad that she'd have to kill her in order to survive. Had they known about all of this sooner, had they been able to take this girl away from Taris, maybe she might have been a friend and ally but such thoughts were futile now and Chija knew it. A bolt of energy struck her out of nowhere and tore into her, sending her spiraling away before she could catch herself and turn. A whisk of a feeling and she spun and her foot hit Sirania right where she had suddenly appeared, driving the air out of the girls lungs. The battle raged on.

Vegetto and Taris were both wounded and both were losing their strength slowly but surely, but so far, it was an even match. Taris had not been fully healed from the grievous wounds from earlier, and Vegetto had been able to use the distraction of Chija's transformation to gather all the power the Defenders had given him and come to his own full power again so they were more or less evenly matched. Nothing else existed right now, just Taris and himself, fighting. For what, Vegetto could not even have said at that moment. Yes, of course he was fighting to protect the others and he was fighting to end the threat of Taris, but more than that, more than anything else, he was fighting because he felt the surge of joy as the battle progressed as he fought an opponent that was as strong as himself, maybe even stronger. All throughout this chase, they hadn't given each other their all, had held back for strategic gain and had fought a game of the mind, but that was over now and Vegetto enjoyed this and reveled in it and that was probably the reason he was slowly gaining the upper hand.

Slowly but surely, Taris was driven backwards, his strength began to fade more quickly and for the first time, Taris realized that he was going to lose. More and more blows of the Sayan landed and less and less counters from Taris hit their mark. What was worse, he could see and feel that Sirania was having troubles as well, being pushed back by this damned new warrior who had come out of nowhere to aid the Defenders. She would not be able to help him out, if she could even help herself out. Still, he was trying to draw the fight towards her, just as he felt that Sirania was trying to reach him. Instinct perhaps, but it was the only thing that was on a dying King's mind. Had he lost everything? No, he had to at least save Sirania…somehow and for that he had to get to her. His days may be counted, maybe even the days of his Empire, but his daughter…no, she must survive!

Sirania and Taris were back to back a moment later, panting, bleeding, faced on each side by their respective opponents. Vegetto and Chija were panting just as heavily, but they had the upper hand. They were winning and Taris and Sirania knew it but there was nowhere left for them to run and they had no possibility to escape the two warriors who were to be their downfall as it seemed. Vegetto smirked faintly as he stared at Taris, finally seeing all the pieces come together.

"Do you see now how grossly you underestimated us? For all your power and all your strength, do you think it was just this one battle that defeated you? No, it was your idiotic chase that killed you slowly, from the beginning." he chuckled coldly.

"Don't you dare lecture me. I know what you want to do and all your noble talk of defending is just a cover to resurrect the Sayan Empire." Taris spat back.

"Not a cover…I prefer to think of it as the icing on the cake." He grinned predatorily. "I suppose I should thank you, because without your ruthless chase, Jari would never have come to us and I would never have thought this to be possible, to revive my race."

Taris seemed to get more and more enraged, but Vegetto did not care. Between him and Chija, their two opponents were finished. Sirania did not say anything, she just shot venomous looks at Chija, who seemed, despite her own injuries, rather amused at that.

"Shall we end it then?" Vegetto smirked and Chija mirrored the smirk. As one, they suddenly dashed forward, driving elbows into the guts of Taris and Sirania, then whirled about and sent both of them hurtling towards the ground where they crashed, creating another crater in the already pock-marked area.

As one, both of them began to gather energy, Vegetto with both hands extended forward, palms facing Taris on the ground, Chija holding only one hand, but supporting it with the other. Reddish energy swirled around them, forming into spheres of incredible power in front of their palms.

"Let's see if you can survive this one!" Vegetto chuckled, again with that cold tone in his voice.

"Big-Bang…Ka…Me…Ha…Me…" the words were familiar to Taris, having seen the standard version of this energy attack already, but this was much more massive, much more furious, not to mention that the sphere this Chija was creating seemed to be just as powerful.

As one, Chija and Vegetto thrust their hands just that little bit further forward. As one, their eyes seemed to flare brightly, their voices thundering over the area.

"HA!"

As one, the two energy beams tore from their palms and tore through the air towards the ground where Taris and Sirania could just watch and wait, immobilized by their weakness and by the last attack. To them, it seemed as though the two warriors up there had unleashed hell onto them, descending towards them too fast for them to dodge or even react really. Then he felt it. Pain beyond measure as the energy tore into his skin, tore into his entire body and began to pulverize it, atom by atom. It happened quickly, but not quickly enough to spare him the pain of feeling his life being extinguished, once and for all.

Kavri, Videl and C18 held their breath as they witnessed this final attack, surprised at this fury and the incredible concentration of power that both of the fused warriors displayed and controlled. They watched as the torrents of energy struck the ground and then had to turn their eyes away as it exploded in a huge detonation, burrowing into the earth, digging a crater even further down, the explosion itself expanding outwards, the three of them having to use the little bit of their strength remaining to somehow withstand the shockwave that swept away everything else in its path. The sphere of the explosion expanded further and further, until it seemed to cover the entire continent. As they turned away, they could not see a shadowy figure dashing towards the center of the explosion, too fast for anyone to see who did not look for it and when the light finally receded, the energy spent, there was nothing there anymore to be seen.

Chija stared down at the crater a moment, panting to catch her breath, feeling that she had been at the limit and that their victory hadn't been as assured as they had made it appear. That had been powerplay and nothing else, but now, it was done, the battle was over. She turned her head a little and saw Vegetto grinning faintly, but also weakly as they both began to descend towards the ground.

"I'm almost sad it's over." he commented softly and chuckled.

"Me, too, but who said life was all fun and games, eh?"

Vegetto just chuckled and nodded, settling his feet on the ground and finding a random rock to sit down on.

"I only wish it could have been done without you having to do this." He added after a moment of silence had passed. He saw Kavri, C18 and Videl approach them from the distance and he was glad, seeing that none of them had been killed.

"We often wish for things, but they don't always come true." Chija commented and then chuckled lightly.

"Hey, you're the old man here, you're supposed to give me such speeches."

Vegetto laughed and then laughed more, relief and joy finally breaking through, though it was edged with tiredness and fatigue. Soon enough, Chija joined him in the laughter and when Kavri, C18 and Videl finally arrived, both of them were still laughing.

* * *

Sirania was falling through darkness, wrapped in a mantle of pain and despair. She knew she was dead, she had to be. There was no way she could have survived the combined blast of the two Sayans. She thought she felt something hold her, and opening her eyes a crack, as much as she could, she saw someone over her in dim light. She thought she heard the figure say something, but couldn't be entirely sure, words did not reach her mind at this point. 

But didn't pain mean that she was still alive to feel it? Could there be just pain after death? It all made no sense and her thought drifted apart, falling into darkness again.

* * *

They only paused a moment, just enough to gather a bit of strength, a time in which Videl talked quietly with CHija, a little apart from the others. Vegetto watched them from quiet, calm eyes. 

"She'll handle it well." Kavri said quietly from his side, the silent, but thoughtful Sayan warrior watching the two as well.

"Yes she will. Better than I did I'd wager. She's strong, she's young and she has many people to help her….and she's not too darn proud to accept the help."

Kavri laughed quietly and tilted his head to the side.

"So, we won…but of course, it's not over yet." He commented a moment later.

"No, it's not over. It's only beginning at least for me and for all those who are willing to help me." Vegetto replied with a tired chuckle.

"But not today. I'd say we gather everyone, get to Taris ship and then leave this hellhole. We all could do with a bit of a holiday."

Again, Kavri nodded lightly and it seemed as though Chija and Videl had finished their little talk as well, they were embracing gently.

A few moments, later, they all took to the air and set off to first find Trunks and Goten and then to return to the others.

* * *

Another wave of pain shot through her when she opened her eyes gain and a faint, cracked groan escaped her parched lips. She felt hot and cold at the same time and incredibly weak, but she found her vision had now a little more focus and again, she saw someone sitting beside her, leaning over her and watching her. She saw black eyes staring at her, but she couldn't quite place them. They were not her fathers eyes, but who beside him could have saved her? She heard words again, this time, she could even make out some of them, comprehend some of what was said. 

"Sleep….rest…heal…"

And as her strength faded again already, she felt herself drifting back into nothingness.

* * *

The reunion was a joyous occasion and Kavri felt his heart warm when Ssiti hugged him so fiercely that he actually winced in a little bit of pain from broken ribs. Arisa's welcome was no less heartfelt and the thought of being finally united in peace with his family made him smile a light, but pleased smile. All around, people were smiling now, knowing that the threat was over for the time being at least. Kavri, being the calculating person he was, knew that there would be other threats eventually, but for now, they were safe. For now, they could celebrate. Together, the ground set off towards Taris' ship and boarded it where they spent half an hour in pre-flight checks and then Ssiti got the large space-ship off the ground and they left the planet behind them, heading towards Earth, back home for some, towards a new life for others. Nothing unusual was discovered in the ship, beside two things. One of the rescue capsules was missing, but that had probably been used by some of the remaining guards to flee and Vegetto as well as Kavri deemed it unnecessary to chase them, the other thing being a few slaves left behind. 

The warriors allowed themselves to relax fully then and as it was Taris' ship, there were enough possibilities to relax. A few guards had remained behind, but those were only to guard the slaves Taris had brought along for the ride and were dealt with quickly. The slaves proved another matter. Kavri knew them, the two personal pleasure slaves of the King, their will broken, their bodies soulless, if pretty husks.

Looking at them as they cowered in their little pen next to the audience chamber, Vegetto shook his head slightly.

"I don't know what's more merciful, kill them to end their tortured existence, or let Ssiti try to work her magic." He muttered softly, gazing at the two women quietly.

Kavri shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"Give my wife a chance. I know why you hesitate, but they deserve the chance." He replied quietly.

Vegetto nodded and turned around.

"Ssiti has proven that she can work miracles at this, I just hope we do not overtax her. She's a kind soul, but even kind souls need rest from counseling the hurt sometimes."

Kavri nodded slowly, but then smiled.

"She would skin you and me both alive if we didn't give the girls a chance. Should it not work, I will deal with them in a merciful way."

Vegetto shook his head softly and put a hand on Kavri's shoulder.

"You will not be alone in that task, should it come to that."

With that, he turned and left Kavri alone in the small room, waiting for his wife to save yet another shattered soul. He smiled dimply as he turned to look out the window and stared at the stars passing by, the ship racing towards their new future.

"No…none of us will be alone again." he said quietly to himself.

* * *

Sirania woke up again. The pain was still there, throbbing through her battered and beaten body, but she found a little bit of strength, enough to lift her head a little, though that sent lances of pain stabbing at her mind. She lay back again and a moment later, that figure loomed over her again only now she could see who it was. Black eyes, short, tousled and spiky hair and a collar around his neck made it impossible for him to be anyone else. 

"Why…?" she managed to croak.

"You will find out…" he replied and he said something else, but she could not quite understand it as she drifted back to sleep again.

_Read the Epilogue in the next Chapter!_


	24. Epilogue

_**Epilogue**  
When__ Dreams __Come__ True_

„Kavri and his family are arriving tomorrow, I just got word from them."

Vegetto chuckled as he stood on the great rocky surface that had been the site of their last great battle, the site of their victory. Ten years had passed since and these ten years had been rather busy for them all, as could be expected when you tried to repopulate an entire Empire. Bulma's research and her technological genius proved invaluable again as she devised new ways to allow birth of Sayan children to happen in a controlled way, without taxing the few remaining Sayan's too much. Of course, Vegetto still urged them all to procreate the normal, traditional way and he suspected that they didn't even really need the urging but at least this way, the burden on the girls and women was lessened considerably. They had taken to being a very big family so far, with all of the girls and women helping raising the children which were birthed in the Capsule Corporation headquarters, integrating them into the Sayan community from the moment they took their first breath, guaranteeing that none ever felt left out and Vegetto knew who the driving force behind all this was and ironically, it wasn't even a Sayan at least not by blood.

Ssiti had taken it upon herself, together with the help of her family, to help the process of rebuilding the Sayan empire and had contributed so much with her thoughts, with her warm personality and with her careful counseling that it surprised even Vegetto, considering it was not her own people she was caring about so deeply, though at some point he had realized that that was not true. From the beginning, Ssiti had been Kavri's wife and she had loved him with all her heart, to a degree that she thought about the Sayans as her people, as her family and Vegetto did not argue the point, knowing that without her, none of this could have been possible.

"Good to hear." Chija answered, standing just a few feet away from him, facing him with her gleaming emerald eyes. She had grown a little more in the past ten years and had developed into a beautiful young woman, to Vegetto especially in her True Sayan form. Truth be told, all of the Sayans who had by now achieved this form under the guidance of Chija and himself had taken to remaining in it for most of the time, arguing that it was after all what they truly were. Vegetto did not argue that either.

"C18, Videl and Marron have arrived already as have Trunks, Goten, Chi-chi and Pan. So, since Bulma's already here, the family is as complete as it can be." Vegetto grinned.

"I expect the first guests will arrive in a week."

"Don't remind me." Chija complained and shook her head.

"Is it really necessary?" she asked, almost, almost pouting.

"It's the wedding of the Princess of the Sayans, you can't just do that in a small roadside church and be done with it. Besides, I thought you liked big weddings." he chuckled and looked at her closely.

It had been quite a turbulent time, these ten years and many things had happened and of course, a young woman like Chija, even if she was two people in one, had sooner or later found a suitor among the Sayan men they had rescued, all of them finding to new strengths and new life after they had been finally freed from their shackles but one in particular had quickly taken to the training and had reached the True Sayan first of the warriors. That was also the one who had captured Chija's eyes, or maybe it had been the other way around. vegetto had chosen not to pry too much into that. He knew of course which of his warriors it was, but he had decided to wait for Chija to introduce them properly and when she had, he had found himself accepting the man, despite being a harsh critic when it came to what was best for Chija.

"Not when they're mine! I will be so nervous! I AM nervous!" she said and shook her head with a laugh.

And to make things even more interesting, Vegetto had adopted Chija as heir to the throne. With Kavri as his First High Warrior, there was the matter of succession to think about and Vegetto had no children of his own. Certainly, he could claim Goten or Trunks as his child, but after they had all sat down together and discussed the matter, it had been decided that it would be better for them if Chija took the post. Neither Goten, nor Trunks very much liked the prospect of one day ruling. Come to think of it, neither did Chija very much, but she was the third strongest fighter in the realm and since Vegetto could hardly make Kavri into his son, Chija had been chosen. The fact that she had basically been adopted by Vegetto in the process did not bother the young woman in the least apparently.

"You will be fine. Or are you telling me you suddenly don't want to marry anymore? Just last evening you were full of words of praise for this young man you intend to have, or was that just pep talk for my sake?" he said with a smirk and that elicited a growl from Chija.

"Nonsense! Still, ah, whatever." she said and waved a hand idly.

"You still have to find someone for yourself, you know. I'll be looking everywhere to find a suitable wife for you, now that you've made me your daughter."

Vegetto laughed and shook his head lightly, brushing back a strand of the silvery hair. He had pondered finding himself a wife aswell, but it just didn't seem to be his luck, not among the Sayan girls that had been freed for certain, even though they developed quite nicely, now that they were allowed to live in freedom. One of them had even reached the True Sayan form already, yet, so far, none of them had caught his particular interest.

"I can hardly keep you from trying, but do keep in mind that I want to have a say in that." he replied with a smirk.

Chija had a playful grin on her features, then chuckled as she looked around slowly, staring at the desolate, barren and destroyed landscape around them.

"It's been 10 years and it hasn't changed at all, has it? Well, why should it?" she smiled slightly, memories coming rushing back at her, memories of the battle and the Fusion and all that had resulted from it. History had recorded this world and by now, books had been written about the rise of the Sayans from their oppression and the victory on this world, but of course, books never were quite accurate, never quite the same as when she herself remembered the events that had led to this life she was now leading, Princess of the Sayans, adopted daughter of Vegetto and soon to be married. It had been one hell of a ride, that much was for certain.

"I think it's a good reminder in its own way. We still have a lot of work to do, but sometimes, people need to be reminded what we had to do in order to gain this freedom, this life and a reminder that we have to keep bettering ourselves. The Galaxy is large and there's more people out there who could eventually pose a threat to us." Vegetto said with a slight nod and then reached up, stretching thoroughly.

"What, you think that it wasn't the last battle?" Chija asked with a raised brow as she, too began stretching.

Vegetto laughed as he finished his stretching and winked playfully to her, but there was a glint of seriousness in his eyes.

"There is no such thing as a LAST battle. There are battles which may be the last for a warrior himself, but there are always battles which come after it, even if he cannot fight them. It is our nature to fight and it is what we enjoy and excell at and just because we now don't go around conquering people anymore, doesn't mean there won't be those who envy us, despise us or simply wish to test our strength and as true warriors we will not deny any challenge. We will fight."

Chija chuckled softly but she knew that the words were true and that these ten years, as relaxing as they may have been, were just a pause. There would be a new enemy eventually, but when it came, they would be ready. No longer would she run, she would fight, with her friends, her family. When this journey had begun for her, she had lost everything, her parents, her home, her race. She had thought she was alone in the universe, fleeing from a monster which would eventually find her, but instead, she had found a new family, a new life, a new home, even if it had turned out far different from anything she could have ever imagined.

"Come on Princess." Vegetto said after a moment of quiet.

"Let's see if you've learned anything in those training sessions with Kavri."

Chija grinned brightly and her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Don't be scared old man!" she retorted and then dashed forward.

The two rushed to meet each other, thundering together as they entered their sparring, both of them grinning widely as they exchanged blows, dodged, ducked and dove out of the way of attacks only to retaliate a moment later.

Yes they were a race of warriors.

And yes, they would fight.

* * *

Sirania stared out at the desert-world which had been her home for nearly 10 years now.A sandstorm was blowing past outside, so she could not actually see very far, but her shifting gaze was not settled on any point outside anyway, instead, they saw other things, things in the past, distant memories they seemed, of a time before her exile, before her refuge here...her imprisonment. Imprisonment, but one of which she was no longer certain if she even wanted for it to end. One hand came up, brushing idly over the collar around her neck, a collar she knew well, but had never thought to have on herself. The collar that effectively reduced her to a weakling, not allowing her to use more of her energy than her captor permitted. Captor and rescuer, she reminded herself, because she knew she'd be dead if it hadn't been for him. 

In all the years since that fateful day, she had asked him countless times why he had done it, he had never answered. Always, he had simply smiled and told her that she would understand one day. Brushing back a strand of her jet-black hair, she looked down. Sometimes, she missed her father, even though she understood by now that what he had done had been the wrong way to go about things. Sure, he had been powerful, sure his rule had given some stability to the conquered regions, but his single-mindedness and his character had allowed the Sayans to survive and to revolt against him. They rarely received news on this backwater world, but what news they did get pointed to a new Sayan Kingdom rising, with Vegetto at its head, but that was as much as Sirania had expected. However, she heard of no conquering going on, none of Taris' old colonies was forced to "convert", the Kingdom merely encompassing all those of Sayan Blood and those who -wished- to join. When she had asked her captor why Vegetto would move so weakly, he had chuckled and explained to her, that sometimes, people listened much better to requests than to orders.

It had been a while before she had understood that, but by now, she knew what it meant. While in the beginning of her imprisonment, the collar around her neck had been vital in keeping her here, by now, it was more or less ornamental. In the beginning, she had fought her captor tooth and nail, even with the collar on and he had simply refused to hurt her, simply ignored and kept her here. With the days passing into weeks and the weeks into months, Sirania had begun to realize that she could not escape and she had instead tried to get at him in a moment of weakness, while he was sleeping or otherwise busy. It had never worked. Then she had begun trying to charm him, beguile him, but that, too failed, the only thing she received to those advances was the simple statement that he was married and that he intended to return to his wife as soon as he could.

When she had given up, he had begun talking to her. At first, she had not listened, had simply ignored him, but he stubbornly insisted, asking her questions and showing her things she had not known before. Slowly but surely, the trauma of her youth was unraveled before her captor, slowl but surely, she began to realize what had caused her to act as she had, not her own will, but the genetic programming of scientists and she had hated the thought of that.

No, she did not want to flee anymore, not for now. She was content for the first time in her life. Gohan had shown kindness and had shown her a new world that seemed much more promising than her old one. More than that, he had shown her loyalty, true loyalty, by resisting any and all advances Sirania had made, even when they had been honest ones after a while. She could only envy the wife he had left behind and sometimes she felt a pang of guilt, thinking that she was the reason he had remained hidden still. When she had asked him why he did not simply return to his family, he had smiled a weak, sad smile.

"I believe I am here for a reason and I believe that reason is to help you. If I brought you back, they would kill you without hesitation. If I told them I was still alive, they would look for me. It is cruel, for me and for my family as well, but it's the way things must be. I...know that you will be needed one day...and even though I don't know for what or when...this is what we are supposed to do." he had replied and although she hadn't fully understood it, she was grateful that it was so for now.

"Are you hungry?" she heard his voice from behind her and she turned slowly, staring at the man who had saved and changed her.

"I could do with dinner, yes Gohan-san." she said softly.

To be continued?

* * *

Author's Notes: Well, this is the official end of the story people. It has taken a good long while to complete, and that is an understatement right there, but finally, it is done and I am at least somewhat proud of it. I want to thank all of you who read and reviewed the story over the years, the constructive critique's as well as the simple praise and even moreso, the constant demand for new chapters. It has kept me going, even though I took my sweet time with some chapters, for which I apologize. I hope you all enjoyed reading the story of Vegetto and his friends and family and if you have anything left to say to me, go on reviewing:D 

As this is the end, there is also a small request for all of you who read this. If you know of a good artist, one you think could draw the characters in DBZ style well, please patch them through to me. I would like to have a collage made of the characters of this story, but it's difficult to find an artist willing to do so. ;;

Thanks of course go out to Akira Toriyama for creating the world of Dragonball in the first place. I have tried to remain true to most of his creation and did take the liberty to extrapolate and change a few things where I saw fit. Of course, the history of the Saya-jin as I portrayed it here has never been published and I have no idea if the great man himself had ever thought about it. I doubt he will ever set eyes on this, but still, thanks!!

Thanks also go out to everyone who encouraged me to write even though I didn't and sometimes was blocked by my sheer laziness. Hey! I finished! I'm done with it! XD

Thanks go out to my beloved, too, who gives me strength for everything I do, every day. I love you darling!

* * *


	25. Appendix Picture

Greetings again everyone. I know I said I had already done my final chapter of the story and that won't change. However, seeing as I grew very fond of these characters over the years, I asked for a commission of some of the major characters in the storyline. This commission is now finished and anyone who would like to see what Vegetto, Kavri, Jari, Chira, Chija and Sirania look like should check this picture out. I am incredibly pleased with the way the Artist portrayed them and very thankful that she did such a great job. It was pointed out that Vegetto, in the picture, looks like the Dance-Fusion (Gogeta). That is absolutely correct. I just like that outfit much better and considering Vegetto is permanently fused I don't see why he shouldn't be allowed to change clothes. 

Edit: I apologize. For some reason, the damn Editor changed the Link I put into this Chapter. Anyone who is interested in seeing the picture, please either go to the Forum, or simply send me a PM, I will reply ASAP.


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